The Taming of the Mean Girl
by Kaoru-chibimaster
Summary: This starts the tale of two young people, one as harsh and viscous as a shre- You know what? She's just mean as crap! And I have to be her partner! This blows big time! AU, Sokai, M for language and other stuff. Beware of Shakespearean humor! Enjoy.
1. A shrew is a small mammal

The Taming of the Mean Girl

A/N: I don't like Sokai … in fact I don't really like Kairi. But my stories don't care about my opinion, they still write themselves. So SoraxKairi this is. And when I thought up the story, this was the first couple to come to mind. So, if you're like me and don't like Sokai, don't bother reading cause there'll be no Soriku and no yaoi. If you do like Sokai or just don't care, please read. I'm already having fun writing this story and I swear the idea just came out of nowhere! So please read and review if you like it. (If you haven't guessed, this is based off Shakespeare's _The Taming of the Shrew_)

Warnings: some sexual innuendo, some adult language, all out Sora-ness

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom hearts, Final Fantasy, or Shakespeare's works (obviously)

Chapter 1: A Shrew is a small mammal, not a grown woman

You know what? I don't get Shakespeare. I remember the other kids in drama class were laughing at this play. I never saw what was funny. I mean the mean girl is now being controlled by her husband because he felt her could _tame_ her. And her sister, the nice one, ends up being the evil devil bitch or something. How's that funny?

Oh, I should probably introduce myself. See, I'm Sora, Sora Strife. My dad, Cloud Strife, is an army man. Everyone loves him. My mom, Aerith Gainsborough (I don't know why she kept her maiden name), is a doctor. Well, a pediatrician to be exact (she sometimes sells flowers on the side, too). Everyone loves her. My older sister, Vanille, is the dancer of the family (she teaches ballet on weekends). I haven't met anyone who doesn't look up to her like a role model (even if she dyed her hair a reddish pink … why can't I dye **my** hair then, huh?). My older brother, Roxas, is the singer. He'll make it big apparently. Me? I'm the actor … and apparently, my dreams aren't worth jack shit. Not that my family and friends aren't supportive, cause they are, but everyone in town feels that actors never make it big. If they're as popular as Angelina Jolie or Hugh Jackman, they'd probably paid to get where they are. These are people with talent, everyone in my town just thinks otherwise because they only see the drama in Hollywood. I don't want to act for the fame anyway, I just love how it represents freedom and the chance to be anyone but you. No one else really gets it but Rox, and he's closest to my age so of course he gets it. He always gets it.

Anyway, back to the introduction. I'm currently fifteen (Roxas being seventeen and Vanille being nineteen). I'm now sophomore in high school and a B student at that. My hobbies are acting, playing video games and fawning over the next hot girl I see. I'm a highly sociable creature by nature, though no one ever wants to talk to me. My hair defies gravity, my eyes are clear blue, I'm short and proud of it and I currently have a problem.

Well, let me start off by explaining my high school. Large, three stories and full of the most judgmental people I've ever met. It's full of cliques. Yeah, I mean the popular girls, the jocks, the groupies, the losers, the nerd, the stoners, the skaters (though I do skateboard myself, but I don't hang out with them), the goths, and the newbies. There are more but I'm feeling lazy right now. And I … well I don't really have a group. I always hang out with my best friend since childhood, he's Roxas' age but that didn't matter to me. He's Riku, one of those quiet and mysterious "sex gods" as the girls like to call him. This automatically made him popular. Unfortunately for me, I'm not. So any time I get near him, the women growl at me like I'm a threat to their territory. Whatever, like I care. I can deal. No, that's not my problem. My problem happens to be the most popular girl in school.

Kairi Santoni. She's fifteen as well, about an inch shorter than me and the toughest bitch you will ever meet. And she happens to be my drama partner as of this quarter and for the rest of the year. Not only could she kick my ass five times in ten seconds, but she can do it with fake nails and in high heels. Not to mention she hates me. Don't ask why, she just does. She had to go and sign up for drama, my sanctuary and the only place in that school I like. Not that she's got no talent, because damn that girl can act! But still, I'd feel better if my safe haven wasn't overrun by a psycho redhead. Remember how I said I wasn't popular? That all changes on stage. I can actually say things like:

"_Roxas! I almost got fangirl raped!"_

"_Wha—Sora, what the fuck? Can't you see I'm a little busy—"_

"_Yeah yeah, making out with __Naminé, but anyway I almost got fangirl raped!"_

"_What do you mean, you almost got—oh."_

That was an interesting day. But my point is it's not like that anywhere else. For me, the only time people are shouting my name off stage are when I'm in trouble with some member of the female sex. And I can't act right when Kairi's glaring at me twenty four-seven. Oh and this is the best part. Guess who're playing Katherine and Petruchio. Yeah, that's right. Kairi and me. Fuck my life!

"Sora, you have to get into the role more! C'mon, I know you can do this!" Ms. Heartilly kept yelling at me. I know she has faith in me, everyone in this room does. That still doesn't make me feel any better when Kairi's staring at me like I'd stolen all her money or something.

"Y-y-you are called p-plain K-k-kate and b-bonny K-ka—"

"Okay, I think that's enough. You can all get ready for lunch now or something, we'll try this again tomorrow," Ms. Heartilly said, shrugging her jacket with the angel wings on the back onto her shoulders. I swear she wears that thing every day.

The fact that we could all go to lunch helped though. I hadn't eaten breakfast, much to my mom's chagrin, so I was basically running on kool-aid and a stick of paopu flavored gum.

And remember those cliques? Well, they don't disappear. Here's how my lunch period usually goes. I try to buy my lunch in a line full of obnoxious line-cutters. I go to sit by Riku since I'm pretty welcome at the senior table this year. I get greeted nicely by Riku, his girlfriend (you'll find this hilarious, her name is the same as his except it has two Ks. Rikku!), my brother, his girlfriend Naminé, my friends Selphie and Wakka (who are actually my age), my other best friend Tidus and then … Well I get glared at by Kairi who's dating my other best friend Tidus. The table gets uncomfortable, Kairi glares at me all lunch which causes Roxas to glare at her all lunch long and Tidus to feel extremely uncomfortable. Somewhere in there, Roxas' friends Demyx and Axel show up and make everyone less awkward with some random joke. Then they get in trouble with some teacher walking by and Roxas has to leave and explain what they were doing which leaves Kairi to glare at me some more and causes me to cling to Naminé who would still be somewhat confused through all of this. Then Roxas would come back and pat my head and I'd stick my tongue out at Kairi who would then scoff angrily and leave the table. Then Tidus would follow her and everyone would go silent. Then Rikku would say something to break the silence and we would all laugh and silently thank her for the distraction. Today would be no different.

"Oh! Oh, oh! I think I know what's wrong with Santoni now! She snorted pixie sticks the wrong way!" Rikku laughed. We all laughed with her as Riku shook his head.

"Ri, there's no right way to snort pixie sticks. And I can't really see her doing that …" he pointed out.

"Well, you never know! What if she does it on the side, you never really know what people do in their free time nowadays. Like no one would've guessed you watch—"

"No one needs to know that Rikku."

Everyone laughed and tried to pester Riku into telling them what he doesn't want them to know he watches. He just ignored everyone.

"But seriously, I want to know why Kairi hates Sora so much …" Naminé said.

"They knew each other when they were younger," Roxas said, squeezing Naminé's shoulder.

"Yeah, back when Kairi's hair was short and she didn't want to kill me every ten seconds. I think she just sees me as a constant reminder of her childhood. I don't know why she'd want to forget it though, she always seemed fine to me …" I offered.

"Family problems, maybe?" Rikku asked.

"She wasn't the type of person to keep things like that to herself," I told her. And it's true; Kairi was always a blabber mouth, telling me everything. Then, all of a sudden, she just stopped talking to me. Did she tell me something she now doesn't want me to know?

"Well whatever her problem is, she needs to confront you about it and stop glaring at you like you're some kind of demon. She's this close to me ringing her nec—"

"Roxas!"

"What? Naminé, all she does is glare at my little brother! It's creepy as fuck!"

"She has to have a reason …" Naminé sighed.

"I just wish I knew it …" I mumbled.

"Well, cheer up Sora. I'm sure when she's ready, she'll tell you. She couldn't possibly actually hate you. Tidus wouldn't even date her if she hated his friends. Maybe he even knows why she acts that way and Kairi won't let him tell," Riku said.

"And anyway, you're partners with her in drama class, right? It's not like she never sees you …" Rikku offered. That just made me more depressed.

"Rikku, you just brought up a sore spot," Roxas said.

"Huh?"

"He can't act when Kairi's around because she glares at him all the time…"

"Aww, poor Sora!" Rikku yelled, glomping me in a very 'Rikku' like fashion. And trust me, it hurts when Rikku glomps you.

"It's okay, Rikku. Ms. Heartilly is very patient and anyway, I have Olette and Pence there for company," I said, prying the blonde girl off of me and pushing her towards Riku.

"Oh yeah, I forgot they took drama too," Roxas mused silently.

"Well, it's good that Rinoa's there for you, but remember she's going to be gone for two months since she's marrying her boyfriend, Squall, and they're having a honeymoon in Paris," Naminé said.

"And you know this how?" Riku asked her.

"Rinoa's my cousin."

"Oh."

"I know Ms. Heartilly is getting married but I sure wish she could've stayed a little bit longer. At least until second quarter ended. I mean, I know that's being selfish, but there aren't very many supportive substitutes since they don't know the kids they're teaching that well …" I sighed.

"I'm sure Ms. Heartilly will ask for someone she trusts to be her substitute her classes. If Ms. Heartilly trusts them then you should," Rikku said and everyone nodded in agreement. I sighed and nodded as well, although I didn't feel very much reassured at anything. In two days, I'd have to deal with Kairi on my own and when Ms. Heartilly … well, Mrs. Leonhart comes back in two months, she may or may not have a Petruchio. Since I might be dead by then.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So …"

"So …"

"Eheh … so, um, Tidus?"

"Uh … yeah Sora?"

"So, yeah I was wondering …"

"Sora, you sound like you're trying to ask him out."

"Shut up Selphie! Tidus, do you think you could—"

"Tidus, why does Kairi hate Sora so much?"

Dammit Selphie, I'm supposed to ask!

Currently, I was walking home alongside Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. Kairi has some club going on every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday (and today is Wednesday if you were wondering) so I had a chance to ask Tidus if he knew why Kairi hates me. I know, I could have done this much earlier in the year, but I wasn't thinking alright! I was a little scared his girlfriend would rip my entrails out.

"I couldn't tell ya man, she doesn't even tell me why …" Tidus said. Great, that's such a big help.

"Then why do you put up with her? I mean, Sora is your best friend …" Selphie pushed.

"I know, I know. It's not like she ever says anything though, right? I guess it's just her problem, though I do think she should talk to you about it," Tidus said to me.

"That's what I've been getting all day!" I huffed.

"Then talk to her."

"Excuse me? No way in hell, she looks like she wants to kill me when I'm just saying my lines to her in drama class!"

"Well maybe she's mad that you're not going to her," Tidus cut in.

"Hey, she should be the one talking to Sora about it! It is her problem!" Selphie yelled.

"Selphie calm down, we'll figure something out for the kid," Wakka said, placing his hands on her shoulders in comfort. My eye twitched a little at being called a kid but I let it slide.

"This entire day has just been an unhelpful pain in my ass," I pouted.

"Aww, cheer up Sora. We are here to help you! After all, what are friends for?" Selphie said with her usual smile. I couldn't even smile back, my thoughts just kept going back to how much I'm not looking forward to Friday. The day Ms. Heartilly leaves. I'm screwed.

"Look, Sora. You'll be fine. Kairi's not all that bad …" Tidus said.

Don't I know it.

"You say that like you're not sure," Selphie said.

Tidus looked a little … bummed out.

"Well, we have been having some arguments. But I'm sure it'll work out …" he said.

"Puh-lease! If you guys break up, you can just date that cute girl Yuna from my AP Physics class!" Selphie sang.

"Selphie!" Tidus and I yelled at the same time.

"What, I'm just saying!"

"Look, it doesn't matter anyway! I'll figure this out on my own. And anyway, I need to practice my lines! I haven't read this play since sixth grade!" I shouted running towards my house.

Yeah, I kind of already have the entire lay memorized but I needed to get away for a moment. All this talk of relationships wasn't floating my boat. My experience with girls ends with Selphie and **she** kissed **me**. Then it was awkward between us for a week before we decided to stay friends. And what's worse, I used to like Kairi. Now she just scares me, so Tidus can have her! Anyway …

"I'm home!" I shouted, walking through the back door (pfft … back door. Shut up, I blame _Family Guy_) since no one ever really uses our front door unless they're mail men, business men, or just have never been here before.

"Hey, Sora, can you do me a favor and walk Moonlight? I just got home from work and I have to start dinner …" my mom said from the kitchen.

"No problem."

I didn't really mind walking Moonlight. She's a black lab who loves people too much but she's at least calm when I take her for walks. And I'm usually the only one who walks her since Roxas usually does his homework at Naminé's house and Vanille is teaching at the studio around this time. And I know my mom was really tired having to deal with so many children in one day. She might as well be teaching Kindergarten. I whistled and Moonlight bounded down the stairs and jumped on me, to which mom ran out of the kitchen to see what was wrong then started laughing when she saw me struggling to push this darn dog off of me.

"She certainly loves you …" mom giggled.

"Yeah, but her love is a bit too painful. Does this count as an abusive relationship?" I grunted as I finally got Moonlight off my stomach.

"Sure sweetie …" mom shook her head and made her way back into the kitchen.

I shook my head as well and grabbed Monnlight's leash. We basically walked around the neighborhood and through the park near my school. The entire time I went over the lines of the play in my head over and over again. It's my method of memorizing them and keeping them in my head. I don't really need the method by now but old habits die hard and I'd been doing this since third grade.

One thing I can say about Shakespeare is that the language gives me a good challenge. I never liked easy roles, they were always boring as all hell basically. I liked having roles where I had to speak in a different dialect or even another language. I liked roles where I could use my imagination or explore certain parts of my personality that even I might not have known. Shakespeare just does that for me, especially his comedies like the play we're doing now. Although, if it were my choice, we would've done _A Midsummer's Night's Dream _or _Much Ado about Nothing _(although I'd rather not be Benedick or Bottom). Oh well, I'll have to put up with being Petruchio and marrying … Katherine. It's scary how well she fits the character. I think Moonlight could sense my distress too because she kept whining and trying to jump up and lick my face which I was not having!

"Alright, Moonlight, that's it! You want my love, you work for it!" I shouted, pouncing on her and wrestling with her. What? Like **you've** never talked to your dog or wrestled with it! Don't mock me!

"Sora?"

Huh?

"Wh-what are you doing?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Tell me what you think please! Like I said, writing this story is getting to be really fun! I've always wanted to write something from Sora's point of view anyway, I just wanted to see what I could do with it without making him hyper off sugar all the time! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go in my room in cry cause I just watched Zack's death in FFVII Crisis Core (seriously emotional, I mean c'mon he was one of my favorite characters!) Review!


	2. A Healthy Dose of Insanity

Chapter 2: A healthy dose of insanity with a side of French fries

A/N: Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, McDonalds … have any of you ever had your Hikaru cosplayer sing that in your ear all day long? Guess what this chapter revolves around … Did you guess? No? Okay, fine, I'll tell you. Ever work at a fast food place that looks like it never should've passed its health inspection? Makes you feel kind of sorry for poor Sora, doesn't it? Oh, oh, oh! Cliffhanger revealed! I probably didn't need to say that. Well anyway, next chapter will start rehearsals for the play and a flashback. Actually, this chapter has a flashback. Don't skip it, or you won't understand who it is talking to Sora when I continue past the cliffy I left last chapter. Hmm … I should shut up now. Enjoy and review.

Warnings: bad language, a pretty gruesome description, more Sora-ness (this entire fanfic's in his perspective) … that's it.

Disclaimer: I don't not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Blood on the Dance Floor.

Reviews:

Q-A the Authoress- Thanks for the review. You ask, I deliver. Here's the next chappie!

Claire Cooper- Thanks for the review, and the encouragement. My lovely story hit a notch and it's driving me up the wall but for the next few chapters, it's safe to say I'll continue this story and update it pretty regularly. There most certainly is a reason that Kairi hates Sora (thankfully that's not where I hit the notch) but it won't be revealed for a while. Keep reading til then.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

-Sora, six months earlier-

It's safe to say that I absolutely hate fast food restaurants. KFC … I hate the smell of greasy chicken. Pizza Hut … their pizza makes me want to barf (don't tell Tidus though, cause he loves the stuff). McDonalds … I think the last time I ate there, I got food poisoning. Maybe it was the specific place I ate at but still … huge turn off. Well I needed a job and the fast food industry seemed to be hiring like crazy. I couldn't try the library, no positions open. No internships, they all required a car and Cloud Strife was not driving his son all around just to get to some internship that might not even pay (my dad's actual words). No, I needed a paying job. One that didn't involve me mowing the neighbor's lawn or doing house work for an allowance. An actual, real job. And where else could I go but … oh god. Burger King? Why couldn't I just find a nice theatre to work at, huh? I guess the fact that I'm a minor really counts in this town. Damn this place sucks. Vanille's already working at the ballet studio and Roxas has a summer job as a camp counselor. He says it's a good way to enjoy his summer and be a kid again, especially when the camp kids ask him to perform in their talent shows. Me? Burger King. What the hell? Why's this the only place hiring that doesn't give me the initiative to burn the damn place down? And this place was … well let's just say mom begged me not to step foot in here again. She subtly avoided the money issue though … crafty, mom, really.

Currently, I was standing in the middle of and insanely small and very dirty Burger King. The tables were covered in things that didn't look like they belonged in a human inhabited environment. That's probably why most people here got their orders to go. Not that the food was much better. It was beyond greasy and just went to straight disgusting. I felt like I was having a heart attack staring at it. And some of it was on the floor turning gruesome colors of brown and green and covered in roaches. The small ones, if that makes it any better (which it doesn't). There were other spots on the floor that looked black and some parts of the walls covered in the same substance. The ketchup dispenser … I wasn't even sure if that was still ketchup. I expected that the manager was probably some greasy fat dude who looked like he hadn't gotten laid in years. Wow was I in for a surprise. When the manager called me over, I almost tripped over air doing a double take. She … well, she certainly was beautiful. Almost like a princess from those fairy tales. She looked perfect … and she looked like she hated this place.

When I asked her why she worked here, I got a story about how she was apparently kicked out of her house and this was the only place she could find a job. She was apparently kicked out because she was pregnant and not married. See what I meant when I said this town sucked. Who kicks their pregnant daughter out just because she's not married? Anyway, she worked her way up until she was finally made manager of this place. Now she's waiting for her boyfriend to get himself a decent job so that they could take care of their baby and she could leave this job. She's also seven months in, which meant she probably shouldn't be working here anyway but she says it's the price she had to pay for not being a 'good daughter'. If you asked me, her parents are the ones who suck. At least she's not a teenage mother or something, she told me her age was twenty one. She was trying to save up for college, if she could even go with a baby to take care of. When I asked her why she told me so much, she told me that I seemed like a 'cool kid' and that the moment she saw me, she liked me immediately. We've been friends ever since. She's the best manager a guy could ask for, she didn't care that I was fifteen; she let it slide since she understood that I needed the cash. Not to mention, she never makes me clean. No she leaves that to Rob, the guy with the multiple piercings all over his face and the earbuds in his ears blasting Blood on the Dance Floor who flirts with every female customer and can sometimes be heard screwing the ones he succeeds with in the back room. I don't really get how he manages to score anyway. Not that Rob was ugly, but he smelled like marijuana and coffee beans and looked like he belonged behind bars rather than behind a cash register. Serrah's been wanting to fire him since forever but he can't seem to respect his authorities and after being 'let go' five times, is still working right next to me with the sound of S my D travelling to the far ends of the restaurant. And if you're wondering, no he doesn't bother attempting to do something about the gross black stains. In fact, I think he's the reason why they're there. I have no proof, but I'll get some damn it, I swear I will!

As disgusting as this place is, though, it gets a lot of business. My pay is … well it's better than nothing. And, even better, no one I know ever goes near the place so I can save myself the awkward moment of explaining why I'm here. Or I can escape the mental (and maybe even physical) pain I'll endure if Seifer and his goons ever showed up here. And Serrah always gives me free soda so it's pretty cool … for a little while. In two months, Serrah'll be on maternity leave and then … well who'll I have?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

-Sora, present time-

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"… Serrah?"

I stood up slowly and let Moonlight roam around to find some place to go tinkle or whatever. Serrah was standing in front of me with her head cocked to the side and a stroller in front of her. Behind her was a blonde man with a beanie who was observing us curiously. Must be her boyfriend Snow. I realized I still hadn't answered Serrah's question.

"Oh, um, I was just walking my dog Moonlight …"

"That's what you call walking your dog?" she giggled, her posture loosening up a bit.

" … Yes?"

She just laughed at me and waved her boyfriend forward.

"Well Snow, this is the good worker Sora I told you so much about and Sora this is the boyfriend-turned-fiancé Snow that I told you so much about.

Snow extended his hand and I took it.

"Nice to meet you," he said with a smirk.

"Likewise," I nodded, smiling a bit. Apparently it was contagious because soon Snow and Serrah both had huge smiles on their faces.

"So, who's the little guy? Or is it a girl? I don't think you ever told me …"

"He's a boy, his name is Hope," Serrah answered.

"Awesome name … though it seems to be a recurring thing to name children after nature or some other random noun. I mean, come on, Snow … Cloud, Sora, Hope … need I go on, I know more," I said. They both laughed at that.

"Well it seemed to be the only name that fit for him at the time … but anyway, Sora, I'm glad I ran into you. You aren't still working at the Burger King are you?"

I nodded solemnly. The replacement manager was a total bastard and Rob's only gotten worse.

"Well, I'm sad I never got to get in touch with you again. I'd quit that job a long time ago and I was hoping you didn't stay for too long. You deserve better …"

I had to admit, I was a little surprised that no one had told me she quit but I couldn't blame her for not contacting me. Neither of us had the other's number. I couldn't do anything but nod again, glad to hear she at least cared. It was a rare thing to find in this town, if you remember.

"So, I wanted to tell you. I've been keeping an eye on this ever since I left. I remember you telling me that you love acting. Well there's this place that's like a family restaurant but it also has a stage and they do little shows here and there for extra money. I know you must be tired of the whole restaurant thing, but this is a really nice place. It's clean and you wouldn't be working behind cash registers serving greasy food to even greasier customers or just people on the go. The only positions they have open are waiter and waitress positions but I think it's a step up. And as long as you can prove your talent, they'll let you act too. It's a good deal right?"

This was the first time in a long time that I had been rendered speechless. It was also the first time in a long time that I'd glomped someone. And yes, her fiancé was included in that.

"Thank you so much for telling me. Did I ever tell you I love you, I feel like I should. I love you! I can't believe this! What are their hours open, I want to go right now!" I squealed (shut up, I'm excited) with tears practically rolling down my face. This woman is my freaking savior. No more greasy ass Burger King, fuck yeah!

"You can go right now if you want, but they don't let dogs inside so …" Serrah trailed off. I turned to look at Moonlight who was bothering some random five year old for his ice cream cone. I whistled and she came bounding over.

"Alright girl, time to go home."

She whimpered and stared at me with those irresistibly adorable puppy dog eyes. And damn were they cute, but she's not getting me this time.

"Complain all you want, you spoiled princess, but if you want sympathy you're going to have to talk … bark with Rox or Vanille."

She whined some more and I stared at her until she finally huffed in defeat. She's a smart dog, when she's not molesting people's faces with her tongue of doom. I turned back to Serrah.

"Thanks again for telling me, I have a feeling this'll be a good turning point for me," I said. She nodded and hugged me goodbye. I waved to her fiancé and cooed at Hope before turning to head towards my house then get my new job.

… Wait, where **is** it anyway?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Well after an embarrassing episode of going back to Serrah to ask the name of the place and directions, I finally got Moonlight back home and explained my situation to my mom who agreed to save dinner for me. She was just glad that I officially quit my job at Burger King on the way there. The replacement manager didn't care, he just waved me away and went about his business. I was now standing in front of my soon to be workplace. As long as they accept my application.

The name was Emory's Place and according to Serrah, the owner, Emory, was a pretty cool guy. He was the fatherly type, not that I had a problem with my own father, but it just made the atmosphere more comfortable. I walked into the place with my head held high and asked about the open positions. Emory gladly accepted my application after a quick interview (it pays to carry pens with you … I currently have three black pens and a half a cookie in my pocket … I don't know where the cookie came from). I half-heartedly listened as Emory told me about the boatload of new applications he's been getting today. The place was nice, just like Serrah said. The general area was spotless and the current employees seemed nice and welcoming. Not to mention, the food looked not only edible but really good. Then the spot of red hit my vision and I almost slipped out of my chair.

"Kairi?"

Sure enough, the moment she turned and spotted me the signature glare took its place on her face. I tried to shrink down in my chair but Emory had followed my gaze.

"Oh, do you know Ms. Santoni?" he asked. I nodded and tried to avert my gaze as Kairi started to advance towards us.

"Sora …? What … are you doing here?" she asked quietly, anger showing itself in her voice somewhat.

"I-I'm applying for a job. I-I heard about it f-from a fr-friend …" I mumbled.

Kairi stared at me for a moment blankly before nodding mutely and turning away. Emory was watching the exchange with a look of mild interest on his face.

"Will you be able to work alongside Ms. Santoni, Mr. Strife? You do realize you'll need interaction at some point with both of you trying for the stage. If you have to act together, you'll need to work together," he said.

"I know, she's actually my partner in drama. It's just that she kind of scares me because she hates me and I have no idea why so I have no way to apologize for whatever it was I did …" I said.

"Why don't you just ask her?"

"That's what everyone's been telling me but they're not the ones who might get beaten up for trying to talk to her. And apparently she won't tell anyone else why …"

"You shouldn't be afraid, just go for it. Besides, you like her don't you?"

I sputtered for a moment.

"What? No, of course not! She's dating my best friend anyway!"

"Ah … unrequited love …"

"Look, love's got nothing to do with it. I just know that if I try to approach her, she'll kick my ass …"

"Mhmm … so what play is your school's drama department doing?" Emory asked.

"Shakespeare's _The Taming of the Shrew_."

"Hmm … we do quite a bit of Shakespeare here actually … Who're you both playing?"

"She's the shrew and I have to marry her …" I grumbled. He must've understood because he started laughing at me.

"Good luck with that … so anyway, how often can you come in. We can work out a schedule …"

"Um, at my old job I worked from five to nine in the afternoons after school so those are my best times," I told him.

"Sounds good … by the way, it looks like you'll be seeing a lot of Kairi …"

"Let me guess—"

"She has the same hours …"

I groaned.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Awesome job finding a place to work other than that greasy shit hole, little bro …"

"Yeah, I'm proud of you."

"Ha ha, Naminé, my mom said the same thing last night!"

"Well, I'm just the motherly type …"

"You finally admitted it!"

"Hey married couple, back to my situation!"

It's lunch time. The same routine as usual, Kairi had stormed off from the table after glaring at me for while. Tidus had followed her, albeit a bit slower than he normally does as if he didn't want to go after her. Rikku cracked a joke (this time, Kairi had the pixie sticks inserted somewhere other than her nose) and I was currently being congratulated and comforted at the same time.

"Sorry you have to deal with Kairi, man, it must be rough having your dream job that much closer in your grasp and you have to share your precious time with Red …" Riku said.

"But still, you get to work on stage. You've been looking forward to a chance like that since, like … ever," Rikku exclaimed.

She was right but … I didn't feel much better. I had gotten most of the congratulations from my family last night. Now I needed the comfort. Roxas and Naminé were willingly giving up their 'make out at the table time' to cheer me up. Riku and Rikku were being supportive like parents and Selphie and Wakka were listing off things I could do to prank Kairi on the job (none of which I would do cause I'm not getting myself fired).

"Don't worry Sora, it's not like she can antagonize you on the job. I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine," Naminé said in her caring tone. She was also right but …

"You're thinking too much! Just enjoy your new job and don't worry about bitchzilla, it's not like she can keep that shit up for forever. She's bound to confront you soon, being your drama partner and co worker. Then you can fix whatever problem she has with you …" Selphie said.

"Yeah, true but that's if she doesn't just kill me first …" I sighed.

"Ha, like she'll get the chance," Roxas seethed, cracking his knuckles. Naminé sighed.

"Honey, we've talked about this. You are not allowed near any chainsaws or Halloween masks. I'm happy that you're ready to go to such lengths for your little brother but I'm not letting you murder fifteen year olds."

"Damn …"

My brother could be so fucking creepy sometimes …

Anywhoo …

"Guys, I'll just have to deal with it. But thanks for all the support."

"No problem Sora, that's what we're here for," Riku said and all of them smiled at me. I felt extremely loved at that moment.

"Sora Strife! May I have a word with you?"

… shit.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Another one … sneaky little bastards these cliffhangers are … Anyway, hope you enjoyed and review. I know it sucks what I did to Serrah but I needed a good way to introduce Sora's new job. And now he has to deal with Kairi more … See you next chapter!


	3. Get off my Case

Chapter 3: Get off my case …

A/N: I totally apologize for my absence. I'm gonna try to get out two more chapters this weekend so bear with me. Also, the library screwed me over so there will be no Shakespeare lines in here but I'll put them in soon. I know, I should just go buy the play … but I don't feel like it. _Flashback_ in this chapter! Enjoy and review!

Warnings: Comedy violence, Kairi's wrath, swearing … that's all folks!

Disclaimer: Things I own: Kairi's outfit in this chapter, a Kingdom Hearts t-shirt, the idea behind this fanfic

Things I don't own: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Shakespeare, the World … yet.

Reviews:

Claire Cooper- Thanks for the review! Yeah, it'll still be a while before I reveal why Kairi can't stand Sora and I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

Zeyro- Thanks, I didn't want Sora to be a spaz. Too many people think he's always hyper, I wish they'd realize when they're playing Sora in KH he doesn't smile happily at his enemies while he beats the crap out of them XD

Q-A the Authoress- yep, another cliffhanger to be answer in this chapter! *dramatic echo*

ThatKid10001- Thanks, your review was very awesome! :)

**Edit (7/23/12): Minor changes made to this chapter.**

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

You know that feeling you get when you know you did something wrong but you had no idea what it was? I would be lying if I said I wasn't getting slapped in the face with that feeling right now. Why is the principal asking for me anyway? I haven't gotten into any trouble for the past week … sort of. Unless he knows it was me who flooded half the toilets in the second floor bathroom. God, please don't let him have figured that out! It was a dare dammit, it's not my fault!

I gulped and followed the principal out of the cafeteria, looking back to my friends who were all staring at me sadly. This can't be good …

If you're wondering about my school's principal, he's a tall and very tan man with shoulder length white hair and orange eyes. Yes … orange. And he scares more than half the student body with his face alone. His name's Xemnas and yes, the majority of us just call him that. Or the bolder students call him Mansex. It's an anagram of his name … what were his parents thinking? Anyway, a student going to his office usually means one of two things: you're either a straight A student or you're in deep shit. I already established what my grades are like so this must be option two. Help me.

"Sit," he commanded after we made it into his office. It's dreary … seriously, the whites of my eyes are more colorful. Nevertheless, I hastily sat down to avoid him yelling at me.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" he asked calmly. Exactly the opposite of how I was feeling.

"Um … no, sir, but whatever it was I swear I didn't do it!" I answered hastily.

He stared at me like I was insane.

"Didn't do what?"

" … Never mind."

"Sora, the reason I called you in was to discuss your job dilemma. I know you're trying to get jobs that won't interfere with your school schedule but you need to keep your grades up and these jobs can't mess with your studies," he sighed.

"I know, I know but it'll help a lot with my acting skills." 'And with dealing with Kairi's attitude.' I added in my head.

"From what I've heard, you don't need much help in that area …"

I guess Ms. Heartilly said something, which I had to admit did flatter me but still …

"So, the point of this meeting?"

"Just to make sure you're keeping yourself in check, I would hate to have your grades drop. You do know what would happen should you drop below a C average?"

I grimaced at the thought. No more plays for me, the class itself is actually a privilege in this suckish school. No way was I switching out of drama, demon red head or not. And, unfortunately, Xemnas was right. I had to keep my grades up or it would work out too negatively for me. No one wants me to act anyway, a job where I work on stage making my grades drop would only fuel the idea that I need a steadier dream.

"I can handle myself," I replied quietly. Xemnas seemed unconvinced but let it go and stood up. I took that as my queue to leave just as he addressed me again.

"Oh, Sora …?"

"Yeah?" I turned back at the doorway.

"I know it was you who flooded the toilets on the second floor so … I'm sure this weekend you and Hayner wouldn't mind cleaning it up as I believe he is the one who dared you?"

… Crap.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The one thing that sucks about going to the principal's office during lunch is that the cafeteria is on the third floor and Xemnas' lair is on the first. So I had to trudge up the stairs in the middle of the lobby then down a second floor hallway to get to the closest third floor stair case. Frankly, though, my luck seems to have left me hanging since I just had to run into Seifer and his gang on the way to said stairs.

"Hey, chickenwuss!"

Crap.

"Yes, Seifer?" I cringed turning around slowly.

"I heard you got my little brother in detention. Is that true?" he sneered.

"No, Seifer. He dared **me** to flood the toilets," I mumbled, stepping back slightly. If it was only Seifer, I could've taken him but no, he has to have Rai and Fuu flanking him. Two huge guys and one small but flexible and pretty strong against one gangly short kid. Sounds fair right? Yea—no.

"I don't care what he did, the fact that he got caught is what pisses me off," he spat, following my movement with his eyes. I continued backing up slowly.

"It's not like I tattled. Xemnas figured it out on his own."

"He shouldn't have figured anything out at all!" And the chase began. I sprinted down the hallway with my eyes trained on Seifer's slowly gaining figure. My first thought was why he was chasing me just because his brother got detention and my second thought was how he found out that we both detention in the first place. That was cut short, though, when I ran into someone and sent us both to the floor. Looking up, I noticed that I was only two doors away from the staircase. Damn. Looking down, I finally realized who I was on top of. Super damn. Well, now I know where Kairi goes when she leaves our lunch table. And the fact that I was crushing her only seemed to fuel the fire burning in her glare. She shoved me off just as Seifer reached us.

"Well look at this. Chickenwuss is trying to make a move on the most popular girl in school. Bold move for such a wimp," Seifer laughed just as Kairi stood up and brushed the dust off her fully pink outfit. And when I say pink, I mean pink t-shirt with pink flowers and a pink miniskirt with pink sneakers. And she can still kick ass. It's quite frightening.

Wanna know what's even more frightening? When said girl clad totally in pink walks up to Seifer and his beefy goons and punches them all in the gut (adding a punch in the face for Seifer). Then claps more dust off her hands as if it were nothing but a small dirty job that she had to do.

"I'm not going to have you ruining my drama partner's face. It just makes **me **look bad. If you have it problem with him, settled it like grown men and women rather than a bunch of uneducated Neanderthals. In the meantime, leave him alone. He needs to practice and get that stupid detention out of the way," Kairi said coolly. She may scare me shitless, but boy do I admire the woman.

Seifer and his gang retreated, glaring at Kairi then at me.

"I'll get you back for this later," he seethed before running off down the hall to wreak havoc on some other unsuspecting victim.

"Uh … gee, thanks Kairi I really apprecia—"

"You're an idiot."

I stared at her for a moment in surprise and she stared back before walking back inside the classroom she came from. Shrugging my shoulders, I followed. It was the music room, I knew from when I came to watch Rox practice sometimes. Kairi sat down by the window and stared out of it sullenly.

"Well, are you going to sit down?" she asked quietly. I sat down, not out of fear but surprise. For once, she didn't seem bothered by the fact that I was in the same room as her.

"Kairi?"

She turned to face me and for a moment, there was no expression on her face. But that was quickly replaced by annoyance.

"You should really learn to take care of yourself better. I'm going to be around to save you from those assholes twenty four-seven."

"Oh … um, sorry …" I mumbled and scratched at the back of my neck. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the window.

"… Kairi—"

"Sora, go back to lunch. We have time to talk later, I just want to be alone for a little while," she sighed with her back still turned to me. I still nodded involuntarily before walking out of the classroom and back up to the cafeteria, not bothering to wonder about her change of heart.

That … was just weird. First Kairi beats Seifer, Rai, and Fuu up then actually talks to me civilly. That had to have been the first time in years that she was actually being … nice.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"_Sora!"_

"_Kairi!" _

_I waved the redhead over. We were hanging out the beach again; me, Kairi, and Riku. Me and Riku were already at the beach and were just waiting for Kairi to get over here. Since my dad brought me and Riku, Kairi had to have her own dad bring her. He never really trusted his daughter being left alone with two boys all the time, especially since we were all in middle school, but Kairi always went back unscathed and happy so he put up with it._

_She ran (well, skipped) up to us and we all found our usual branch to sit on and talk. Though, in our case, Kairi would talk and I would occasionally add in my own two cents while Riku stood against the tree and looked cool. Sometimes I teased him about it but he would always just throw sand at me and run away laughing, causing a race to start up while Kairi watched in amusement._

"_Riku, you're always just standing there like some guardian. Is the tree your castle or something?" I laughed. He smirked at me._

"_If it is then you two are my prisoners."_

_Cue the sand throwing._

"_Gahh, Riku!" I complained._

"_I challenge you! The first one to the pier wins!"_

"_No fair if you get a head start!"_

"_Haha, you better go get him Sora!"_

"_Kairi, you saw what he did! That was dirty!"_

_She laughed at my pout and pushed my bottom lip in with her index finger. My face flushed a little._

"_He's winning Sora!"_

"_Like hell he is!" I shouted then went sprinting after Riku. I was always a good runner, but unfortunately Riku was better. He won … again. I was wheezing by the time I caught up to him._

"_C'mon. Sora, I thought you were stronger than that!"_

"_Get real! Look which one of us is winning!" I huffed then collapsed onto the sand. Riku just laughed … or more like cackled at my sorry state._

"_Right, Sora, sure."_

"_Darn it, Riku, one of these days I shall become the victor!" I shouted, though it didn't sound very convincing when my voice cracked. He shook his head at me and reached out a hand to help me up which I took gratefully. At that moment Kairi ran up to us with a worried look on her face._

"_Guys, I have to go!"_

"_What? But Kairi, you just got here!" I said. She looked down and refused to meet my eyes._

"_I just have to go now. I'm sorry Riku … Sora."_

_Without another word, she ran. I called her name but she never turned back. It was a while before I ever heard from her again._

-o-o-o-o-

Thinking back on it, everything happened too suddenly for me to really figure out what was going on. I couldn't ask her family because she never let me go over her house again. It was after that day that she started to hate me. She never gave a reason as to why, she just did. Earlier today seemed to be the only time she was speaking to me without obvious dislike in her tone. And she said we could talk later which, I'm guessing, is when we both get to work. That's where I'm headed now, at least. I had just finished walking Moonlight and left her to go bother Roxas or Vanille or someone. Now I was just walking to Emory's whistling the song from Snow White where the seven dwarfs were heading to work. Shut up, I'm a Disney fan! Is that a problem?

Anyway, one thing I'm glad about is that she doesn't completely ignore me. It wouldn't work out for school or work purposes. Or the fact that I have most of the same friends as her. In fact, it's getting harder and harder for me not to run in to Kairi lately. I remember a few weeks ago I ran into her when Vanille dragged me to the mall so I could decide the best outfit for her date. She stared at me like I was insane for being inside a women's clothes store but didn't do anything else. I guess I should be grateful for that. And, unlike me, she doesn't let my presence get in the way of her acting. I guess that just makes me the loser here. He he he … lovely.

"Sora!"

I looked up to see Emory's wife Elise waving at me. She was that motherly type of person who didn't take any crap … from anyone. That includes her husband. I think the only person she doesn't frighten is Kairi. Which I could understand since she doesn't have a mom, Kai's mom died a long time ago before Kairi and her dad moved here. Elise is probably happy to take the role since Kairi isn't out for **her** blood.

"Hey, Elise!" I waved back.

"Sora, do you have a minute?"

I shrugged and walked up to the front entrance. Elise waved me inside as soon as I got up to her.

"You said that you wanted to work on stage here sometimes too?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, if I can …"

"Good, we needed someone to help out in next week's play. It's a family event so you don't need parent's permission unless it's something they're totally against. In that case I have some forms for you."

"They'll be fine with it."

"Okay, so you'll be fine with being the main character?" she asked as she shoved a packet into my hands. It was a script.

"Yeah, I'll be cool with that. What play is it?"

"Oh just a mix of fairy tales with all the same characters basically …"

I stared at her blankly. How's that basic? I don't even know what this'll be about! Then again, I should read the script but still …

"So, are you okay with that?"

"Yup, that's fine!"

Damn my happy attitude! Why'd I agree to do this?

"Oh and by the way, Kairi is the other main character. Aren't you happy to have such a sweet girl as your princess?" she gushed.

Sweet girl? Have you seen that wolf in sheep's skin? Of course you haven't, you're the one she's tricking!

"That's good to know!"

Ugh, I hate myself.

Elise patted my shoulder in contentment and walked away, probably to find her husband.

"You don't have to lie you know …"

"Whoa, Kairi? Where—?"

"I was here the whole time, you doof. You don't like the fact that I have to be your 'princess' again. I can tell by the look on your face."

I was beginning to think she read minds.

"It … it doesn't matter Kairi. It doesn't bother me that you're working alongside me. You really are a good actress," I sighed.

She looked like she didn't believe a word I said but let it go after a while. And hey! I got to talk to her more, now to find out why she hates me.

"I don't hate you …"

Holy crap, she can read minds!

"And no I can't read minds, just expressions. Your face is fairly easy to read."

If I wasn't imagining this entire encounter then … Kairi really was laughing … at me.

"Then why don't you ever want to talk to me?" I asked, pushing my luck.

"Look, Sora, I really don't want to talk about it right now," she mumbled, turning her face away from me. I took that as my queue to back off. At least another piece has been added to the puzzle. Kairi doesn't hate me.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Five tables waited, two rip off tips, a script study, and a hell of a hassle walking Kairi home (which Elise **made** me do) later, I was finally headed to my own warm and comfortable house. When I got in, the first thing to hit my nose was … smoke. Either Roxas' friend Axel was here or Vanille's trying to cook. Only one way to find out.

…

Yeah, Vanille's trying to cook.

"Vanille, didn't mom tell you to leave the stove alone when she wasn't here? And where is she anyway?" I sighed as I watched my oldest sibling attempt to heat up fish. Last time she tried it in the microwave, she almost burned the house down.

"To your first question, mom asked me to heat up dinner when you got back. For the second question, mom and dad are out dancing … I think," she replied in that weird Australian accent she started using. Mom says it's a phase. I say it's crazy. Anyway, my big sister is the perfect example of the stereotypical ditzy blonde. She tried disproving that idea by dying it brown … it ended up pink. And then she continued to dye it that way 'cause she thought it look cool. Yeah, see what I mean? At least there's hope for Roxas … he's a smart blonde. I'm proud to call him my big brother. Not that I don't love my sister but god I wish she'd move out soon!

"You probably could've left that to me …" I said, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, but mom says I need to learn how to be a proper wife for some lucky guy someday. So I need to cook for my little brothers to practice for the future."

"So basically we're your guinea pigs?"

She nodded happily.

"There's no getting around it Sora. What Vanille wants, Vanille gets," Roxas grumbled from behind me. I turned to see him scratching his head and shuffling into the kitchen. Either he had a long day or Naminé was upstairs. Another thing to know about Roxas and Naminé. They are definitely not virgins. Neither is Vanille for that matter but that's beside the point. That always leaves two options open for Roxas' disheveled state since, thank god, he's pretty courteous about it. No one ever hears when him and Nam are going at it. Everyone still kinda knows though. Tells you how lenient my parents are. As long as they aren't young grandparents, Roxas and Naminé can have sex and as long as the house is still here when they get back Vanille can attempt to cook. As for me, as long as I'm not sneaking out, I'm allowed to have as much company over as I want. Since I actually can cook and I've already explained my situation with the whole 'experience with girls' thing, those weren't issues for me. No … the issue right now was that the fish was turning black.

"Vanille …"

"Yeah?"

I stared her straight in the eyes.

"If you ever try to cook again, I'm grounding you myself."

Not to my surprise, she actually pouted. Which was understandable since I was not to be taken lightly. The both of them know this, I may be youngest but I still rule over this place when the parents are gone. Which was more often than one would think. Mom used to tell me that I changed my own diapers when I was a baby. I knew it was a total lie since that was impossible and Dad admitted to being the one who actually changed my diapers but I got the idea.

The rest of the night after that was uneventful except for when Naminé came downstairs and scolded Vanille for cooking after I did but that was about it. I went back to my room and read over the script for the play at Emory's. _Sigh._ So much to do …

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"I can't believe it, Ms. Heartilly's really leaving."

"I know; she was the best drama teacher …"

"Well she is coming back after the honeymoon and such."

"I heard for her last class she's bringing her fiancé in to watch the class!"

"Oh, I saw a picture of him, he's so cute!"

"Cute? Don't you mean hot?"

"Rinoa's so lucky! I wish I could marry someone like Squall Leonhart!"

The giggles continued. It's true, Rinoa Heartilly … 'scuse me, Rinoa Leonhart is leaving today. And it's also true that her fiancé, Squall Leonhart, was watching her classes today. Though, I wish everyone would stop freaking out about it. I mean, even some of the guys were buzzing about the news. The only calm, normal people were Kairi, Olette and Pence. And they're the farthest from normal I've ever met! Olette and Pence were ignoring the whispers entirely and Kairi was glaring at the gossipers as if her eyes would melt their lips. I silently wished they would …

"Class, class, settle down. As I'm sure you know, we have a guest today. I'd appreciate it if you not bother him and if you wish to talk to him, do so quietly without disrupting my lesson. Also, I'd like you to remember that I'm the one marrying him so please … no touching."

Everyone laughed though I could tell some of the girls were trying to hide the fact that they probably wanted to kidnap this man. Good luck, Ms. Heartilly—Mrs. Leonhart I mean.

"Isn't it sickening the way these girls are fawning over this poor guy. He's about to get married to their teacher and they don't even give a damn!" a girl next to me, Garnet, whispered. I nodded, thankful that she wasn't one of those monstrous women. If you haven't noticed, as little as my experience with women is, I do have tastes. And I prefer the ones who don't have robot scrap metal for hearts. People like Selphie and Garnet and … Kairi. Y'know, the ones who have a personality and can spell the word too.

"Obviously, their jealous," another girl, Paine, added in. I nodded at her too. She may creep me out but man can she be the most awesome person ever at times. I've known the girl since third grade, when I really got into acting. After my family and Riku, she was the next person to support my dreams. Then Selphie, then Garnet, then … a lot of people. Hmm, I should stop taking them for granted.

"What would they have to be jealous of? Last I checked, they all had boyfriends of their own," Yuna said. She isn't in this class but sometimes she drops in to help Ms. Heartilly out since she's a student aid.

"Like they really care … And speaking of boyfriends, I heard you have one of your own now," Paine smirked.

"Huh? Who?" Garnet asked.

"Tidus of course," Paine answered. My head swiveled at that.

"But isn't Tidus going out with Kairi?" I asked, confused.

"Down boy, he **was** dating Kairi. They broke up yesterday," Paine said with the smirk still on her face.

"But Kairi didn't seem too upset …" I mused. Sure she seemed down but … she didn't look like she'd just lost her boyfriend. And how come Tidus never tells me this stuff?

"She probably saw it coming …" Garnet murmured.

"Well, I don't really know what to say for Kairi … she's changed. Maybe that's what happened. I don't dislike her or anything but she used to be a much nicer person and now … Well, it doesn't matter, she has good friends who'll help her through it! I would myself but I don't think she'd want anything from me …" Yuna sighed.

Paine patted her back in sympathy and we all looked over to Kairi who was staring at the ground glumly. I almost wanted to go over and comfort her but I didn't want her to rip my limbs off in a rage or something.

"You know what, though. Some one-ahemSora-needs a little more attention payed to their love life as well," Paine whispered slyly. I gulped. What does she have planned?

"I can take care of that, I've actually wanted to do this for a while. Sora, what are you doing this Saturday?" Garnet asked me quietly.

"… Scrubbing school toilets with Hayner Almasy?" I cringed. Damn detention. Garnet just laughed lightly. One thing I like about her, she doesn't giggle like those weird groupies do.

"For how long?"

"Until the time we leave school, I'm sure."

"Before seven?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Want to go see a movie with me?"

My eyes popped for a moment. Garnet was asking me to go to the movies? Since when did the planets align and the titans escape? Or this could be a good thing, you never know …

"Just say yes," Paine deadpanned while nudging my shoulder. I gulped and nodded and in response, Garnet smile a nice bright smile that had me blinking a bit.

"Excuse me, Ms. Alexandros, Mr. Strife, could you refrain from making dates in the back of my classroom?" Ms. Heartilly sighed.

Garnet's and my faces turned red but we both smiled and nodded at her. I think her fiancé smirked and half the class was laughing at us. Let them laugh, I don't care. For the first time in … okay, just for the first time I had a date with a hot girl who had a higher I.Q. than Moonlight! Okay, scratch that, even the dumb ones don't go for me. Apparently I'm too weird, but whatever. I'd rather go to the movies with a close friend like Garnet than some random ditz. It might work out for Roxas but me … no. And for the record, Naminé kicked Roxas' ass for thinking she was just another dumb blonde. How they ended up in love, I'll never know.

Class went by just the same as always, we all somehow pissed Ms. Heartilly off on her last day here for a while then reclaimed her love with a congratulations card at the end of class. She tried her best not to cry and failed miserably then we all hugged her until her fiancé had to pry us off of her. I headed to lunch in a zombie-ish state, already having memorized the way to the cafeteria. But I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, however small it was at the moment.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: I know … I suck. No updates for a while and I end the chapter with that? You all hate me don't you? It's alright, I can take the hate! … Okay no I can't, please don't hate meeee! Like I said, I'll try for two updates this weekend but it's not guaranteed. I know for a fact, though, that I can get one more chapter out this weekend if not two. Until then, review peoples! I love you all (please don't murder me)


	4. Seeing Black

Chapter 4: Seeing Black

A/N: Short chapter because the next one will be longer. This is just about Sora and Garnet. Now I know you're all like "WTF? This is Sokai, why's Sora dating Garnet and not Kairi?" Well you see, this is going to be a gradual buildup of their relationship but first Kairi has to hate Sora. Remember, their situation is similar to that in the Taming of the Shrew except more modern. Something has to be the catalyst of their relationship and before any of that happens, there needs to be a conflict or barrier. So Sora will be dating Garnet for a while but no worries my Sokai lovers, it won't last forever. The next chapter will be about Sora and Kairi anyway, but it'll be another flashback about how they met and grew up together before the incident that tore them apart. It's going to be long which is why this chapter is short. Like … really short. It might not get past 1,000 words. Sorry if it might take a while to get chapter five out but I'm not giving up on this story! It shall be finished … I don't know when but it will!

Warnings: make-out scene (a short one though), language, more Sora-ness …

Disclaimer: Why must I keep saying this … SQUARE ENIX OWNS KINGDOM HEARTS AND FINAL FANTASY!

Reviews:

Inarx-You enjoying the series, glad to see I am! Thanks for the review!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It's been two weeks since I started dating Garnet. In that time we've had one very awkward date then a few more that weren't so disastrous. Roxas said he was proud of me for dating such a pretty girl who was remotely more intelligent than a mound of dog crap. Naminé said she was proud I was dating at all. She was getting worried since the last girl I kissed was Selphie and that was just weird as hell. Well, that problem was certainly fixed. Garnet wouldn't stop kissing me. I'd say it was annoying but … no, it's not. In fact, I feel like I'm in dream land. It's really been pissing my mom off. She apparent misses her baby boy who was the picture of celibacy and innocence. Not that I've lost my virginity yet but she doesn't like the fact that I can't seem to pay attention to everything else as much. I got the picture when I noticed my room was a square filled with crud littering every surface and Moonlight was pissed at me for not walking her. And when I offered to walk her when I went to the park with Garnet, she turned her nose up at me. Damn dog.

It wasn't pleasing mom either so she scolded us both until we both came to an agreement that if I walked Moonlight with Garnet by my side, then Moonlight got most of my attention. She's an attention whore, let's face it. I think she's proud of it too. Roxas and Vanille always shove her on me because they know if they dealt with her, she wouldn't leave them alone. Of course the Strife family had to be the family that got the smart dog!

She had me grumbling all the way to the park. I could practically see the smirk on her face. Every time she barked, I could hear the laughter. Or maybe I'm just going insane. Whatever.

"Moonlight, can't you terrorize someone else for today?" I pleaded.

She stared at me as if to answer 'No, bitch, you're mine and it stays that way!' Funny that my female dog would be calling **me** the bitch …

"Sora!"

I looked up to see Garnet waving me over by the park bench. I make a beeline for her, practically dragging poor Moonlight with me. Wait, poor? This is what she gets! Anyway …

"Hey Garnet!" I greeted, sitting down next to her and giving her a peck on the cheek. I guess that didn't satisfy her because she quickly turned her head and captured my lips and held them there. I tilted my head to deepen the kiss and bite at her lower lip. She smiled against my own lips before opening her. After that, it became a battle of tongues and teeth which ended with me gasping for air while she made her way to my neck and started sucking there. My left went to stroke her hair while the other rested on her waist and her own hands gripped the front of my shirt.

Unfortunately, we were interrupted by Moonlight barking and running around in circles like she was insane. That little …

"Sora, stop glaring at your dog! Besides, I think she's cute!" Garnet laughed.

"I think she's doing that on purpose …" I grumbled. Garnet laughed again and stared at my neck before gently touching the spot where her mouth had recently been.

"Well, at least I can say I've successfully marked you as mine."

My hand shot up to my neck and over hers as my face started to burn. She must have left a hickey … which my mom will start to complain about. Lovely. Moonlight was already complaining, jumping up to try and lick my face.

"Don't you start with me! Weren't **you** the one ignoring me this morning? Make up your mind!" I shouted at Moonlight who answered by licking my face some more. Garnet continued to laugh at the scene but then again, who wouldn't. I'm yelling at my jealous dog who was acting like I was cheating on her and was currently trying to reclaim me.

After that, we spent the entire day walking around town. We went to an ice cream shop; I got strawberry, Garnet got chocolate, and Moonlight got on the shop owner's nerves until he finally threw a fit and threw an ice cube at her which she gratefully ate. At east she was outside, so we weren't kicked out or anything. And I know what you're thinking … who eats ice cream in November? Where I live, it's warm year 'round so no white Christmases for us. … Or winter breaks … damn.

Anyway, at the end of the day, I walked Garnet back home. Surprisingly, she told me enjoyed the day. When I asked how she could stand having Moonlight around, she laughed and told me she loves dogs, even jealous, girly ones who are extremely annoying. I kissed her goodnight and made my way home, reminding myself that Moonlight needed a bath since she decided to ruin her shiny black fur and roll around in dirt to get my attention. When I walked inside the house, I ended up imbedded into someone's back and with a mouthful of silver hair.

"Riku!"

He turned around when he realized I slammed into him.

"Oh, hey Sora. I was wondering when you would be getting back," he said lazily.

"Um, yeah I'm here now. So what's up?"

Rikku came bouncing out of the kitchen and ran up to glomp me.

"Sora! How was your date? Oh, is that a hickey I see? I guess it went very well huh?" Rikku yelled in extreme hyper mode. I guess the look on my face must've been priceless because her and Riku started laughing at me.

"Anyway, you weren't picking up your phone so we came over to see if you were alright when Roxas said you were on a date with Garnet Alexandros. We were going to ask you if—"

"If you guys wanted come to my party on Saturday!" Rikku finished for Riku who seemed to be expecting the interruption.

"Party? For what?" I asked.

"No reason, I just wanted to have a random party so we could all cut loose and have some fun after an entire quarter of ugh!" Rikku spazzed, clamping herself onto Riku's side (I really wonder how he's unaffected by her hyperness … then again, Riku never lets anything bother him).

"She's inviting everyone, so you're probably not getting out of this one," Roxas said as he dragged himself downstairs. When he looks this disheveled, he was probably holed up in his room writing music.

"He's right you know," Riku smirked.

I sighed in defeat, though I never particularly declined.

"Fine, I'll go."

"And don't forget to bring Garnet with you!" Rikku said before dragging Riku out the door behind me (it's not like I ever closed it). They both waved goodbye before shutting the door behind them.

"… That was weird."

Roxas nodded in agreement before his eyes zeroed in on the hickey (when it started fading Garnet … renewed it as she so gracefully stated).

"Nice."

"Shut up!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Well, I ended up getting past 1,000 words but the chapter's still kind of short. Anyway, reviews please. They are the straw to my berry … that line sucked. Okay, just please review. See you next chapter!


	5. Nice ta Meetcha

Chapter 5: Nice ta meetcha!

A/N: I AM SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR A WHILE! MY COMPUTER HATES ME AND I HAD TO REINSTALL MS WORD SO EVERYTHING IS BEHIND AND IT SUCKS! So now I'll just tell you about what happened during my absence. Last weekend was Otakon 2011 at the Baltimore Convention Center … For … The … Win! You won't believe the amount of Soras I found there as well. There had to be about fifteen of them the first day. Not to mention, Roxas was the next popular character to cosplay (me being one of the Roxas cosplayers), a bunch of Kairis, and not as many Rikus as I had hoped but oh well. **Anyway**, this entire chapter is a series of flashbacks about how Sora and Kairi met and grew up together. Well, more like two flashbacks with a very irregular time skip. I know it looks weird but the chapter is only really meant for two major events in Sora's life so the weird skip in years is necessary. I originally wrote this for fun but I decided it would be a good idea to clarify the relationship they had before Kairi started to ignore Sora. Anyway, enjoy and review! The next chapter will be getting back into the story line.

Warnings: Very minimal language … that's it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. All rights go to Square Enix.

Reviews:

Inarx-Oh you're getting closer but that's not all there is, actually that's a very minor addition to the reason

Q-A the Authoress-yay, I can make people laugh! XD Thanks for the review!

estella-Thanks for the review, I'm glad to see that you're enjoying my introduction to the characters, I was worried someone might think they were too out of character but I wanted them to act a certain way for this story.

MagixSxientixt24- Thanks for the review and the 3! I'm glad to know that you find my story funny ('cause I don't, I think my sense of humor sucks) but anyway I appreciate the thumbs up.

X'kIaRa-cHaN'X- Thanks for the review, I didn't figure this fanfic would make that many people laugh! I'm proud to present more of this … weird idea that became a story.

ThatKid10001- Wow, a lot of people find this to be really funny. I guess that's enough encouragement to get more out. Sorry the update wasn't that quick but I had to reinstall Microsoft Word so that kind of put a delay on all of my stories …

**Edit (7/23/12): Minor changes made to this chapter.**

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Sora: five years old

"I learn in this letter that Pedro of Aragon comes this night to Messina."

**He is very near by this. He was not three leagues off when I left him.**

"How many gentlemen have you lost in this action?"

**But few of any sort, and none of name.**

"A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers. I find here that Don—"

"Sora! What are you doing? Are you still up?"

I slammed my bookmark into the book and threw it under my bed before turning off my night light and diving under the covers. I knew it was way past my bedtime but I couldn't resist reading the play. It would normally please my mom that her five year old was reading Shakespeare and wasn't even asking her to really translate it for me. I only asked a few times and she wouldn't let me read Romeo and Juliet because she said I would be asking too many questions and I wouldn't be ready for it. Right now, though, she would just be angry at me for staying up so late. I always liked challenging things like Shakespeare. In fact, I loved reading in general. But especially plays and Shakespeare was my favorite. It was something different from the norm of today. I wasn't good with technology. I wasn't good with much else except for running. I hate anything else challenging … like math. Two plus two equals fish and it should be left that way.

The door to my bedroom opened and I tried my best to relax and breathe slowly. And at the last minute, I remembered to close my eyes. I felt my mom lean over me and kiss me on the forehead. She mumbled to herself a bit, probably trying to pick the toys up from my floor before exiting my room and cracking the door. I turned slightly to stare at my door. That was close! Anyway, tomorrow's my first day of Kindergarten. I'm excited. Maybe I'll see that new girl Riku was telling me about. He said she moved into the house next to him so she must be right down the street. I can't wait to meet her! Well, I hope she'll like me at least, and then we could be best friends!

The thought comforted me to sleep. That night, I had no dreams.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Sora! Mom told me to wake you and Roxas up today! Aren't you excited? You're starting kindergarten today!"

I stuffed a pillow over my head and tried to block out Vanille's voice. It didn't work because I heard my door open then the pillow was lifted off and the first thing I saw was a head of very short, curly blonde hair. Vanille gets her curls from Grandma and the color from Dad. She also insisted her hair be cut as short as a boy's but even now, it's still girly. The fact that Mom made her wear a pink dress doesn't help either. I dragged myself out of bed slowly. Eight thirty … way too early for a kid to wake up.

"Come on, come, come! Hurry up Sora!" Vanille shouted, crossing her arms and squinting her way too bright green eyes at me. She must be picking up Mom's habits because Mom is the only one who ever says 'come on, come, come'.

"Vanille! I don't wanna get up!" I groaned.

"Well then you're missing out on chocolate chip pancakes!"

That got me moving. I threw myself out of my room and into the bathroom, not really caring that Roxas was already in there. I brushed my teeth and washed my hands and face, all the while Roxas was complaining about personal space. Pfft, like I care that he's peeing, it's my first day of school and I'm getting chocolate chip pancakes! I rushed back into my room and threw on the outfit lying on my bed that Mom most likely set there. Then ran downstairs and sat down at the table, saying good morning to my parents (Mom was standing over the stove making the pancakes and Dad was reading the newspaper as usual) and stuck my tongue out at Vanille. She scoffed and turned her head at me, not realizing where she was going because she ended up walking into a wall. Just at that moment, Roxas walked into the kitchen and noticed her face-planting the white paint before bursting into laughter. That encouraged me to laugh and we soon ended up in tears on the ground while Mom was making sure Vanille was alright and Dad was sighing and rolling his eyes at all of us from behind his paper.

Mom made me and Roxas apologize to Vanille for laughing at her then we all sat down and ate our food. I grabbed my new back pack (it had a Superman design on the back) and waved at everyone before leaving. I would be meeting up with Riku and Tidus to head to school; we all agreed that now that we're a year older, we would act more grown up and walk to school ourselves. And anyway, Roxas and his friends Axel, Demyx, Xion, Olette, Hayner, and Pence were behind us. They were sticking together because apparently, Xion's moving next month and Hayner's skipping a grade so he'll be going to Private school up until eighth grade from next week on. And behind them were Vanille and her best friend Fang (quite the name, I'd say).

"So where's that new girl, Kairi?" I asked to break the silence.

"I heard she's getting dropped off at school. She must have really rich parents cause their car looks expensive," Riku answered.

"Wow, what kind of car is it?" Tidus asked.

"A Bentley, I think."

Tidus whistled low. "Holy schamoly, that girl **must** be rich. How'd she carry herself?"

"Um, pink dress, ribbons in her hair, stood straight, proper speech … stuff like that. My parents were saying she would be a perfect little lady or something like that when she grew up. I personally don't get what's the big deal …" Riku said. I nodded in agreement; why do girls have to always try and look better than everyone else? Well, not all girls. Mom was saying that girls like Vanille and Yuffie were tomboys or girls who act like boys. Roxas said Xion was like that too. Those are the type of girls that make sense to me. Tidus thought differently.

"Those are the types of girls I like. They should always look pretty, like how my mom says. Those are the respectable girls.

"Tidus, you're too young to like anyone!" Riku exclaimed.

"Not true!"

I personally took offense at the subtle insult towards my tomboyish sister but didn't say anything since she would get mad at me if I got in a fight with my best friend over her. And anyway, Riku was right. I clearly remember hearing somewhere that girls have cooties and you only get i-immu … you only get used to them when you get older like around my parents' ages. Why would Tidus take the risk now over some girl he didn't even know?

"What do you think Sora?" Tidus asked me. I voiced my opinion out loud this time.

"What? Who told you that? Girls don't have cooties, there's no such thing as cooties!" he laughed.

"But I heard it from Wakka, apparently they do!"

"Wakka was just playing with you. Trust me, girls don't have cooties," Tidus said.

"Then why do our parents say we shouldn't date them until we're thirty?" I countered.

"They don't mean that, they just want us to wait until we're older to date. Dad said 'as young people, you have your whole lives ahead of you to enjoy women. Right now, you should focus on your studies so that the girls will like you for your good looks and your smarts when you're older!' but I never really rely on his judgment. He's never around anyway, why should I care what he has to say? If Mom hadn't backed it up later, I would have completely ignored him."

I remember meeting Tidus' dad once, and I can understand why Tidus hates him. He's so bossy and never around and when he is he always wants to antagonize people. I heard Yuffie use that word once and when I asked her about it, I decided it would be the best word to describe Tidus' father. I used it in front of Mom once, and she gave me six cookies that day instead of four. But anyway, I understand how Tidus could feel that way for his dad, he's certainly not as nice as mine and my father never smiles!

"My parents told me the same thing, no worries Tidus. And I don't want to get involved with girls much anyway right now, they're always so moody," Riku sighed. I once again agreed with him, though Tidus looked preoccupied. If you haven't noticed, I have a big vocabulary do to my reading and asking Yuffie about words I don't understand. By the way, I should ask her again about that word i-immu … whatever it is! Mom calls me her little scholar; she said if I don't know what job I want when I grow up then I should become an English teacher. I made a face at her. Roxas told me about his teachers and from the sounds of it, I probably won't like them. No, I want to be an actor and work in a play like Shakespeare's plays. I'd rather be on stage than in front of a chalkboard.

When I talked to Tidus and Riku, that seemed to be the last of their worries. I understood somewhat because they're the same age as Roxas but still, I was scared. Sure the thought of the first day of school was exciting but I had no idea what would happen. Tidus said not to worry because I'm in kindergarten so I've got it easy. Nap time, story time and learning the alphabet. I didn't have to worry about that though. I can read just fine since my Dad taught me and made me study so much. Since he works for the government, I guessed that it must be normal for his kids to be on a higher level. He said it was useful to learn ahead of my class because it would show that I'm not weak. Mom always scolds him when he tells me and my brother and sister stuff like that. She says that we should be allowed normal childhoods and not get caught up in his beliefs of the perfect child or something. He always tells her that he's not trying to make us perfect but sometimes I think he wants us to be. It's not as if he's forgotten that I'm a five year old, it's just that he thinks I should be better than the other five years olds. I hate thoughts like those. Why would I want to be the odd one out? That's why I didn't let Mom make me skip a grade like Hayner did. I don't want to be 'that smart kid', I just want to be me.

Both Tidus and Riku agree with me. They said because I'm so smart, kindergarten will be a breeze for me. I was allowed to be myself. I just hoped they were right.

When we got to the school, the first thought that popped into my head was 'boring'. The building was large (two floors) and made of really dull, grayish-brown brick. The halls weren't much better. There were some displays of student artwork and some hallways were a little colorful but mostly it was white and boring. My classroom was a bit more impressive. I had been waiting for this moment since forever. The room itself was painted a light green and had posters of the best cartoons and Disney movies everywhere. The desks were all set up as little tables for four students to sit at and going along the wall was the number system and the alphabet. My Mom said that my new teacher knew my situation and would probably give me more work to compensate for me being ahead. That bummed me out a bit but when I saw the teacher, my mood lightened up again. The nameplate on her desk said 'Lockhart' and the teacher herself had a very nice smile with kind brown eyes and very long black hair. She stood up and walked over to me to hold out her hand. I stared at it, a little stiff with fear, before shyly grabbing it shaking hands with her. She only seemed more amused by the way I acted and laughed suddenly before patting my head.

"You look so much like your father, it's funny! Except for the hair color of course; that belongs to Aerith!" she laughed. I stared at her in shock. She took notice of this and started to introduce herself.

"It's okay; I know you probably think I'm a total weirdo. My name's Tifa Lockhart, if you want to you can just call me Ms. Tifa. I actually knew your father a long time ago; I was even at his wedding! And I heard from Aerith about your situation. I personally feel proud that such a smart little boy was put into my class. Now, I know extra work doesn't sound all that fun but it wouldn't be fair to you or any of the other kids if you were given the same amount of work. If you're already reading Shakespeare, even if with a little difficulty, then why would you want to work with your ABCs? And anyway, reading is the only thing you'll need extra work with. Otherwise, you can partner up with the other kids for stuff like math. The school system is upping everything so that once you get into first grade; the only thing you'll be missing is nap time. I'll talk about everything specific with the entire class. In the meantime, you can sit anywhere you want since I know assigned seats suck!" Ms. Tifa said in a very excited manner.

My hopes were brought up a little more by the fact that I would be able to work with the other kids with everything else. But first, my mission was to find a seat. The problem with being friends with older kids is that you end up not knowing the kids in your class very well, so I didn't really care where I sat. I chose a seat next to a girl with curly brown hair and in a yellow dress talking excitedly with the boy next to her. I didn't really know how to describe his looks so I stuck with the fact that he had a very 'Islander' accent. The moment I sat down, the girl with curly hair turned to me and I could've sworn the brightness in her smile blinded me, only toned down slightly by the fact that she was missing a baby tooth. I couldn't turn away.

"Hi there, spiky, my name's Selphie Tilmitt! The guy next to me is Wakka Nakai and don't worry, I don't get his hair style either," she said. The kid next to her, Wakka, made a face at her. My expression almost matched.

"That's nice, but my name's Sora not Spiky!" I growled. Selphie wasn't fazed.

"Cool, Sora. It means sky right? I like it! You know, Wakka's name means water. My name doesn't really have a meaning but my mama said it was a pretty name for me and said that if I try to get it changed when I'm older that she'll disown me!"

I was once again staring at her like she was insane.

"Why's she so happy about that?" I asked Wakka. He shrugged.

"I think she has ADHD."

"Wakka that's not funny!"

"I never said it was …"

I sat down in my seat and watched them bicker before noticing that someone just sat down on the other side of me. I looked over and the first thing I noticed was the bright red hair almost like Axel's, except just a little bit darker. Then I noticed the pink dress that was just like Vanille's. And then I noticed her face. I would say she's pretty but … she was wearing sunglasses for some reason so I couldn't really say much. She must've noticed me staring at her because she turned to face me and waved. I waved back slowly and she smiled. Selphie must've also noticed her because I know she's hovering over me and most likely shining her creepy bright smile.

"Hi there, I'm—"

"Selphie Tilmitt and the guy next to her is Wakka Nakai," I finished for her. Finally something turned down the quarter moon on her face.

"Sora, I can introduce myself just fine, thanks!"

I ignored her.

"My name's Sora Strife, nice to meet you," I said politely to the red haired girl. She smiled again, pushing the short strands out of her face.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Kairi Santoni. I just moved here," she said. My eyes widened in surprise. This is the new girl Kairi and she's in my class! Selphie and Wakka didn't seem nearly as excited.

"Okay, Kairi, so what's up with the sunglasses?" Selphie asked. I didn't like her tone, it didn't sound very nice at all. I guess she doesn't like Kairi though I don't see a reason why. Kairi herself didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, they're still on my face? I guess I didn't notice. They didn't change anything much in this school. The hallways are so bright, it was almost like I was outside!" she said, taking off the glasses to reveal large, violet-blue eyes framed in long, curly lashes. I guess Mom was right to say that reading so much made me a romantic when I describe things. I kind of agree, my own description of Kairi's eyes scared me!

She blinked a few times before refocusing on us. Selphie slid away and when I turned to look at her, she didn't seem all that pleased. She decided to turn back to Wakka. Selphie confused me, at first she was smiling at Kairi and now she's ignoring her. When I asked her about it, she said:

"You weren't nearly that nice to **me** when **I** introduced myself! I guess you like the new girl more huh?" and went back to ignoring the both of us in favor of Wakka. She must've been sad that I wasn't as polite to her at first as I was to Kairi but then again, **she** was the one who called me spiky.

Ms. Tifa started talking to the entire class, then, and I turned to stare out the window since she's most likely talking about the day's schedule which was already on the board anyway. I figured I'd write it down later, it must be just for her to remember since whenever I caught sight of her out of the side of my eye, she was looking at it. My attention for the most part was spent on how I'd get Kairi to be my friend. She seemed to like me enough already, so it shouldn't be too hard right?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Sora: thirteen years old

"Sora. You should try and keep your grades up you know. I know you can do better than that!"

"Lemme alone, Kairi, I'm tired!"

It's been eight years since I became best friends with Kairi. I introduced her to Riku as the new addition to our group soon after I met her. He was fine with her, though the fact that she was kinda girly put him off bit. Tidus started getting into Blitzball too much to really notice her but he was fine with her as well. The only person who didn't like Kairi was Selphie. I never really understood why, but then again Selphie was never one to really talk to me about the things she disliked. That's probably why she'd stormed out of my house the second Kairi came over today. She just wanted to help me with homework (not that I needed it but after being pushed by my parents so much, I just gave up). I'm keeping my grades in the green range (the green range being As and Bs) but I don't bother excelling in school. My English teacher loves me but she's still pissed that I don't work half as hard as I could in her class. I'd use the excuse of puberty but since everyone goes through it, I just chalked it up to being lazy. Dad doesn't bother me about it much since he's getting more caught up in work now, but it's giving Mom the blues. With Vanille being in High school and getting a job, Mom doesn't have time to worry about my grades. Roxas says I should just do what I want as long as I'm aware of the consequences but once again, being in Middle school is a good excuse for being at least somewhat lazy. I don't have to worry about too many adult responsibilities so why should I bother working so hard? I wish Kairi would get that but she's been nagging me about my homework for the past half hour.

"Ugh, Sora if you don't have good grades how will you expect to get into college?" she sighed.

"College? Kairi, we're in Middle school! We have plenty of time to worry about college in High School!"

"I know, but if you keep this up it'll drag on High school! What will you do then? Jeez, Sora, you're such a lazy bum!"

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the living room T.V. Kairi huffed angrily at me before grabbing my binder and smacking it into my face.

"I'm here for a reason, Sora, so forget about the damn T.V. and pay attention!"

My answer was a glare but I gave in anyway. If Kairi has a reason to fight someone then she won't hesitate to kick their ass. I personally like my ass the way it is. Roxas, who was in the dining room doing his homework with his girlfriend Naminé, shook his head at me for giving in so easily but that's because he's never seen Kairi when she's angry.

"Isn't Wakka having a party soon?" Kairi asked out of the blue. I stared at her suspiciously for a moment before nodding my head yes.

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm not letting you go if you don't finish your homework …" Kairi deadpanned.

"What the hell, Kairi?" I exclaimed.

"Use it as your motivation or something. If you don't do what you're supposed to, you get punished."

"Since when did you become my mother?"

"Since you asked me to come over and help you with your homework, which I know isn't the real reason since you can do it just fine by yourself."

I ignored Roxas snickering in the other room and sighed before staring at my homework glumly. It was almost as if the textbook was laughing at me as well.

"Fine."

Kairi smiled with accomplishment before returning to her own work. She always has to win doesn't she?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Friday 8:00pm, Wakka's house

"Explain to me why I'm here again …" Kairi mumbled, glaring at Selphie from across the living room. Everything was lit up to resemble a sort of club scene and a bunch of people from school were there. I tend to glue myself to the people I know so I stuck to Kairi who basically stayed as far away from Selphie as possible. Selphie felt the same; I could tell by the death glare she returned to Kairi. Other than those two, everyone was having a good time.

"You're here to have fun, so have fun," I mumbled back to her, trying to draw her attention away from the curly haired brunette. The fact that I touched her arm as I said this only seemed to make Selphie angrier and she disappeared to the back room behind the stair case. Kairi rolled her eyes at the display before gravitating towards the food table. I, being the glue stick that I am, stuck with her the entire way.

After that, everything was fine for a while. Wakka's parents stayed out of everyone's hair and basically kept to themselves in a corner of the room until Wakka managed to convince them to go away. Somme of the kids were heading outside to dance since the air inside was getting heavy. Kairi didn't really feel like doing much so I struck up the courage to wander off on my own while she was distracted. I managed to find the door to the basement and decided it wouldn't hurt to see what was down there; it was open anyway. I walked down the creaking steps to make sure I wasn't surprising anyone who was down there. Instead, it was me who got the surprise.

"Selphie?"

She looked up at me and sniffled and I noticed the tear stains down her cheeks. I ran up the couch she was on and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"… Why do you always hang out with **her**?"

"Her?"

"Santoni!" she stressed.

"Um, because she's my best friend?" I suggested. Selphie huffed in annoyance.

"So are you gonna forget about Tidus, Wakka, and Riku too? Because, I'm pretty sure they were also your friends before Santoni was!" Selphie griped.

"Of course I wouldn—Selphie … you don't seriously think I forgot about you …"

She looked up at me and stared straight into my eyes as if searching them for the truth.

"Didn't you?"

I was at a loss for words. Okay so maybe I hang out with Kairi and Riku more than anyone else but that doesn't mean I forgot about them. I brought another point up.

"Selphie, you were the one who avoided me every time Kairi was around …"

She shot out of her seat.

"So? Haven't you ever thought that maybe I don't like her being around you? Haven't you ever figured out that I don't like her at all?" she shouted.

"Selphie—"

"Don't 'Selphie' me! I wish that for once you would notice how I feel!"

Before I could say anything else, she cut me off again; this time by her lips. It wasn't glamorous, and it certainly wasn't what I thought my first kiss would be but the fact that it was Selphie was what made it all the more surprising. She never even showed any signs that she liked me and here she is kissing me and all I can do is stare at her tightly closed eyes like I'd never seen her before.

" … Sora?"

And if only to make matters worse, there was Kairi standing at the bottom of the stairs. I gently pried Selphie off of me as both girls stared at me in surprise. Kairi was backing away slowly, showing no emotion on her face and Selphie was touching her mouth with a strange expression. I paid that no mind in favor of Kairi retreating.

"Kairi I—"

"Save it Sora, if that's how it is you could've just told me," Kairi growled before bolting up the stairs.

"I-I can't do this …" Selphie whispered before running up the stairs as well, leaving me completely confused.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"I don't get it," I huffed into my arms later that night. Both Selphie and Kairi were avoiding me so I apologized to Wakka and walked home. Roxas and Naminé were still in the dining room so I immediately avoided that spot which immediately alerted them that something was wrong so they followed me upstairs where I was vegetating on my bed. I told them what happened after much coaxing and a threat from Rox.

"Selphie must've been jealous and wanted to let you know that she had feelings for you for a while. That's the best explanation for what she did. As for Kairi, she probably feels the same way and didn't accept the fact that you kissed someone else, especially her enemy. They'll come around sometime, they're not stupid. But things will probably be awkward for a while," Naminé explained. I was still a little caught in the fact that Kairi likes me back but I had to agree that her explanation made sense.

"Personally, I suggest you leave them both alone for a while if you don't want them to get angry at you. Right now, they need there space. This, little brother, is information every man should know. Avoid angry women, they can be pretty damn unreasonable," Roxas added. Naminé glared at him for the comment and he smiled innocently at her.

"I love you baby," he said perkily. Naminé rolled her eyes at him.

"As much of an idiot as your brother is, Sora, he's right. You don't want to approach them, just let them come to you. Unreasonable or jealousy-based anger is the only thing that would justify any of their actions until they calm down and you don't want to get caught up in that."

Naminé was right, as always. Things will be awkward for a while and I should give both Kairi and Selphie some time to calm down.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

As it turns out, a little time for Selphie was just a week. She came up to my locker the Thursday after the party and apologized before suggesting we stay friends. It was fine with me, I wouldn't know how to deal with it if she either kept pursuing me or left me alone completely. As for Kairi … she took about a month. The most surprising thing is that it was Selphie who convinced her to apologize to me. Kairi would never admit it herself so it's a good thing I was there to see it.

They were in an empty classroom after school was out. I stayed later because I was trying to get my schedule for the next quarter changed so that I could be in drama class. I stuffed myself into the space between the door frame and a row of lockers. Kairi spoke first.

"Look Selphie, I'm not in the mood for whatever you have to say so please just leave me alone."

"Oh so I guess you're just gonna keep ignoring Sora then, huh?" Selphie scoffed.

"That's not your—"

"It so is my business! You can't stand the fact that I kissed him first. If you could stop being so stuck up for a few seconds, you would notice that he didn't kiss me back and was more worried about you!" Selphie shouted before sighing and rubbing her temple, "Look, Santoni, I got over it. He likes you more so I'm not going to take advantage of the fact that you never confessed and try to date him. I wanted to, but I'm not going to date someone who doesn't like me back. Stop ignoring him, can't you see the mopey way he stares at you? Of course you can't 'cause you're too busy being a bitch!"

Kairi looked taken aback but didn't say anything.

"Well? What are you gonna do Kairi? I'm not picking up his broken pieces just because you can't forgive and forget! It's your job to comfort him, you're who he's closest to! And you better think of something soon before he decides that you're as much of a waste of time as I think you are!" Selphie seethed before storming out of the room. She stopped when she saw me for a moment but didn't say anything and continued on. I looked back in the room to see Kairi glaring at the floor.

I didn't hear from her again until the next day. She showed up at my door at five in the morning and when my Mom let her in (in complete confusion by the way), Kairi ran straight up to my room and pounced on me. I had no idea what was going on but after a few minutes of Kairi hugging me and mumbling 'sorry' over and over again, I finally sighed and hugged her back. I felt wetness start streaming down the T-shirt I wear to bed and rubbed her back soothingly while she cried. All in all, it was a very eventful morning. She decided that we can go back to being best friends (which I wasn't satisfied with but kept quiet) and Mom invited her down to breakfast after learning about the situation. Things continued on normally from that day on.

Or so I thought. It only took that one day at the beach for things between Kairi and I to change but it would fix itself again … right?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Well then … almost six thousand words and this still went by pretty quickly in my opinion. Oh well, it's longer than the other chapters and I finally got to update again. So please review and tell me what you thought of this little journey into Sora and Kairi's past. Next chapter will be back in the present of the story. See ya!


	6. Make a Choice if

Chapter 6: Make a Choice if the Music Drowns You Out

A/N: Oh my Haruhi Suzumiya … it's been over two frikkin months! You all hate me don't you! I know I took a while on this but I kept getting stuck on it (I'm sure you guys know how that feels, writer's block is a bitch). Not to mention I moved and I haven't had a computer for about the same amount of time that it's been since this was last updated …

Warnings: Language, use of alcohol, etc …

Disclaimer: Did I put this in the last chapter? Okay, I did. Anyway … I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, The Taming of the Shrew, My Chemical Romance, or the world … yet.

Reviews:

Q-A the Authoress- Yes, the past answers so many questions, thanks for the review!

ClassicCartoon27- Glad to see that you want more so *epic drum roll* HERE IT IS!

Inarx- I've seen it happen in real life, that's the really sad part. In fact there are quite a few people I knew in kindergarten who I still despise. At least for these characters, things are working themselves out. Thanks for the review anyway!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"_Come on I say, and first begin with her_."

"_She shall not_!"

"_I say she shall, and first begin with her_!"

"_Fie, fie, unknit that threatening unkind brow, and dart not scornful glances from those eyes, to wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor. It blots thy beauty, as frosts do bite the meads, confounds thy fame, as whirlwinds shake fair buds, and in no sense is meet or amiable. A woman moved is like a fountain troubled, muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty, and while it is so_—"

"Kairi could you please not glare at Sora while you're saying your lines?"

"… Yes sir."

Finally. I thought she was going to burn holes in the side of my head for a minute. Surprisingly, though, our new substitute is fairly competent. He also happens to be the guy who owns the flower shop my mom helps out at so he pretty much feels for me and doesn't let Kairi glare at me while she says her lines so I can actually do pretty well. His name's Marluxia, by the way, and if he was gay I wouldn't be surprised. Not that I have a problem with gay people but how could you not figure he is with his bubble-gum pink hair? Okay, maybe I shouldn't base it off that. Maybe I should base it off the fact that I caught him checking out our vice-principle Saïx the other day. No? Whatever, it doesn't matter because when it comes to theatre, this guy is strict. Which is perfect because I hate it when teachers aren't serious about what they teach. Not that Ms. Heartilly wasn't strict, but I could tell that class wore her out by the end of the day. Marluxia … well Director as he likes for us to call him, is basically a giant ball of pink energy. I would be scared if it weren't for the fact that Kairi is scarier.

By the way, Kairi hasn't stopped glaring (obviously). She simply stated that she doesn't hate me. Apparently, that doesn't mean she can't glare at me. As for lunch, well … she never sites at the table anymore. Tidus is always there with Yuna and Garnet sits with us now too. Everyone went back to the regular routine (minus Kairi) and things continued on as normal. So why was I so worried? Well, Kairi isn't exactly the type of person to mope around like a sad puppy. So, the fact that I barely see her and when I do she either stares at the ground glumly or glares at me has me worried. It's even messed with her popularity. No one hangs out with her as much and guys don't drool over her anymore even if she's currently available. Selphie says it's what she deserves but I don't agree. Everyone deserves a friend or even someone to laugh with. When I told Selphie this, she responded a bit harshly.

"Are you fucking kidding me? That girl had her chance at close friends and she totally fucking blew it by not talking to you or Riku anymore. I mean, it's not like she has something against Riku but the fact that he hangs out with you all the time stopped her there! I don't get her! If she has a problem with you then she should just fucking confront you and get over herself! God, why do you even care so much? If she wants to be a bitch then she **should** be sulking for all the shit she put you through as payback! Seriously Sora, stop caring so fucking much about her! If she cared the same, then we wouldn't be fucking having this problem …"

I couldn't deny the truth in her words (no matter how harsh and disturbingly worded) but I still felt that it was unfair for Kairi to go from everyone loving her to having no friends. I even talked to The Girls about it after school was over. Yes … those girls. The ones with high school wisdom beyond their years (and the audacity to take over my living room).

Rikku, Paine, and Yuna. Hell, even Naminé and Garnet joined in.

"Well personally, I don't what the problem is …" Paine started off with.

"I can understand if she would be upset with Tidus and me …" Yuna said quietly.

"That's not the problem. The problem is that she doesn't know how to make her own friends anymore. She's spent so much time having people flock to her that she doesn't know what it's like to be around people who like her for her anymore. Personally, I agree with Selphie when she says that Kairi fucked up bad breaking off her friendship with you and Riku, Sora …" Rikku said. See? Wise words from wise women.

"But there's still the question of why she did that …" Naminé murmured.

"Family problems?" Paine offered.

"No, it couldn't have been. Kairi's family loved Sora. Though now that I think about it … Kairi's entire family has avoided Sora's ever since Kairi and Sora stopped being friends. They never talk to the Strifes or barely even look at them. And I notice Kairi had been much nicer to the entire family before everything happened and after it all she just kind of … stopped going near them. She only ever sat at our table because of Tidus. It couldn't be entirely her fault …" Naminé said.

"Ah, so it's a family feud …" Paine said mostly to herself.

"No, it's deeper than that. To suddenly cut ties like that … something really bad must've happened," Naminé answered anyway.

"If it's something like that then she should say to hell with her family! They can't control her like that!" Rikku yelled.

"Rikku, if she could've done that she would've already. She obviously feels the same way as her family does …" Paine rebuked.

"But she already said that she doesn't hate Sora, so what if it really is her family?" Yuna asked.

"She may not hate Sora … but something involving Sora may have roped him into this hatred she feels for _whatever _happened," Rikku sighed, flopping further down into the cushions of my couch. I scooted closer to Garnet while Rikku took up all the room and she squeezed my hand in return.

"So then … what happened?" Yuna asked.

They all turned to stare at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked intelligently.

"Sora … did something happen in your family that was … bad?" Naminé asked softly.

"Not that I'm aware of. There's a lot of family that I don't know about," I answered with a shrug.

"… Maybe they're just hateful for the sake of needing someone to hate. It could've been a problem completely irrelevant to the Strifes and they decided to stew on their own meaning not letting anyone else in," Paine said after a moment of silence, "I mean think about it! Sora, if you noticed Kairi being upset when you guys were friends then you wouldn't have left her alone until she told you what was wrong, right? Well if she stopped talking to you then she wouldn't have to deal with your prying questions. You don't even like her anymore right? That must be what she wanted!"

"Well that makes sense but even though I don't like her anymore, it doesn't mean I can't worry about her …" I mumbled. Garnet squeezed my hand again.

"Sora, you're too nice of a guy …" Rikku sighed.

"She realizes that but no matter how you feel about it, this is something she doesn't want you concerned with," Yuna said, ignoring Rikku's comment.

"Wasn't I kinda roped into it anyway since she never told me what was wrong and just ignored me anyway?" I asked grumpily.

"Yeah, but she wasn't thinking like that. She hoped you would leave her alone after pretending to hate you instead of being intrigued," Paine answered.

"Then why would she tell him that she doesn't hate him?" Garnet asked quietly.

"That's a good question …" Naminé mused.

The front door opened and we all turned to see Roxas and my mom carrying a bunch of grocery bags inside. I got up to help as well since it looked like mom ignored the purpose of her shopping list and over did it again.

"What's this? Are you guys having a party?" Mom asked in an amused tone as she surveyed her female infested living room.

"No, just discussing Sora's life problems …" Rikku sighed. I glared at her for suggesting that they were life problems.

"Well then, I'll just go put these away …" Mom laughed lightly. Roxas, having ignored the exchange due to the ear buds in his ears, dropped his bags on the counter in the kitchen and went to sit down next to Naminé and somehow fit both of them into Dad's tiny armchair. I picked up whatever Mom was struggling with and went to help her put everything away. She thanked me and started dinner and I went back to sit next to Garnet as the girls all chose a new topic to discuss.

"So this Saturday's my party, yeah? So we need to pick a theme and some music because I'm totally stumped …" Rikku said as she righted herself on the couch and gave me and Garnet some more room to stretch.

"Club theme, maybe?" Yuna suggested.

"Nah, too cliché … how about a rock theme?" Paine suggested.

"But I don't know that many rock songs …" Rikku huffed.

"… How are you Riku's girlfriend again?" I asked. She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Look, if you want someone to supply music then why not ask my dear older brother?"

My dear older brother had no idea what was going on. I reached over and pulled the plug out of his earphone jack.

"_And right here, right now. All the way in Battery City. The little children raised their open filthy palms, like tiny daggers up to heaven. And all the JuV halls and the Ritalin rats ask angels made from neon and fucking garbage scream out 'What will save us?'. And the sky opened up. Everybody wants to change the world. Everybody—_"

"I was listening to that thank you …" he growled as he stole his iPhone back.

"You're welcome. Rikku, you're problem is solved, just steal my brother's iPhone …" I deadpanned. Rikku giggled at the suggestion but Roxas wasn't nearly as amused.

"Why **my** iPhone? Why not yours?" he grumbled.

"Because I don't have one and you always have the best music …" I scoffed.

"Oh … really?"

Wow Roxas … I thought Vanille was supposed to be the dumb blonde.

"Well that works if you're fine with it Roxas …" Rikku said. He nodded at her.

"Yeah I can lend my iPhone for a bit but I can't be the only one bringing music so you gotta talk to Riku about this too," Roxas told her.

"Why isn't Riku here anyway?" Yuna asked.

"Because Sora didn't want Riku's two cents in the Kairi matter since he knew it would be just about as heartless as what Selphie said …" Paine explained absentmindedly.

"Ah … well now that the Kairi matter has been temporarily closed, let's get Riku over here. There's a significant absence of his sexiness that I refuse to put up with!" Rikku whined.

My god, how does **he** put up with **her**?

"Cause he woves me ..." Rikku cooed in a mushy voice as if she read my mind. And yeah, she stared directly at me as she said that.

"Did you seriously just say _**woves**_ …?" Paine asked, uttering the word 'woves' in a slightly disgusted tone.

"Rikku, honey, just say he loves you 'kay?" Yuna sighed, smiling fondly at Rikku as if she were her sister.

I ignored them after that and stole Roxas' phone to text Riku and get him over here. There's way too much estrogen in here and Roxas by himself isn't enough to counter it.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Something's bothering you."

I flinched at the box full of props that Elise had almost dropped on my fingers while I was cleaning a table of the trays and tip littering it. My eyes shot up to meet her as she lowered her face to meet mine. I couldn't get out of this one since Elise can sniff out a lie a mile away.

"It's just …" I trailed off as my gaze turned to Kairi who was across the room reading over our script.

"Katherine being too much of a shrew for you?" Elise half joked as her gaze followed mine. I smirked but shook my head.

"More like Kairi's being too much of a hermit. I can't help but be genuinely worried about her, I mean she used to be my best friend," I sighed. Elise stared at me silently for a moment and I kept my eyes trained on the table.

"… You're a good kid, Sora. Even after the many times she's shunned your company, you still care. I'm proud to call you a worker here. But don't let her get you down. She just needs time to sort herself out."

I was surprised that Elise, of all people, said something like that. Normally, she immediately takes Kairi's side and won't leave anyone alone until she finds out what's wrong. I almost made that face at her that gets my mom to break down because I look like a lost puppy but Elise seemed to sense my confusion before I was pushed to that point.

"I'm just saying … she's having lady problems …" Elise explained uncertainly, pursing her lips and pushing her ginger bangs out of her eyes.

Lady problems huh … I don't understand women.

"Of course you don't …" And with that, Elise went back to work.

Note to self: next time, do not vocalize the fact that you don't understand women. (I didn't even realize I said that out loud)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So …"

"So …"

"Uhmm …"

"Yeah …"

"Uh huh …"

"Okay …"

Awkward silence.

I shouldn't be having awkward silences with my girlfriend anyway! Well, I mean, I guess the fact that my mother walked in on us making out and kinda freaked out is a contributing factor but whatever. Today's that freaking party Rikku's having … she has better things to worry about … like not letting Roxas out of the house or something. I had apologized to Garnet over a hundred times and her answer was always the same 'It's fine, it can happen to anyone' argument. Sure, it can happen to anyone but the fact that it happened to be **my** mother who caused it wasn't good. She tended to hold everything in until she reached a breaking point where she would have a _minor_ break down and throw some things like glasses, plates … chairs. I'm dead serious, Dad had to lock her in their bathroom once 'cause she was stressed out from her job. She at least calms down quickly though, but I can tell she just needs a little push which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I told Garnet all of this and that's what led to the awkward silence. She probably agrees that my family's a little bit loopy. Then again, she never came over my house enough when we were younger to get to know them like that. My parents only knew her as Garnet Sarah Alexandros, that girl that I knew in fifth grade who actually seemed normal. The only friends who visited me regularly were Riku and Kairi. Speaking of Riku, he should be getting here soon so Garnet and I can have a ride since I don't have a permit yet and Roxas likes being difficult with me. Also, I refuse to rely on Vanille, she might crash her car.

"I think he's here," Garnet said quietly, looking out of the window where I could see headlights shining. It's only seven but we're heading to Rikku's house early to help set up (or more like she's forcing us to become her labor slaves while she figures out what to wear). Just then, Roxas came bolting downstairs.

"Can I get a ride with you before Mom finds a way to imprison me in my own room?" he whispered, stumbling over his words with how fast he said them.

"Uh … sure?" I answered and he nodded gratefully before rushing out of the front door. Garnet and I followed more slowly. Roxas was somehow already in the car and beeping the horn to get us to hurry up. Riku just propped his arm up against the door like he didn't care (which he probably didn't).

"Alright, jeez," I almost exclaimed as we got into the back seats.

"Where's Naminé?" Garnet asked.

"Already at Rikku's house. She apparently wanted to help Rikku pick an 'awesome' outfit or whatever …" Roxas answered.

"It'll probably look weird. I don't get her fashion sense …" Riku said as he started driving.

"Then why are you dating her?" I asked. It was an innocent question, I don't have a problem with Rikku but they both just seem like a weird pair.

"I like weird …" Riku smirked.

"That's because you're just as strange as she is!" I huffed.

"I'll give you that …"

Thankfully, Rikku doesn't live too far so we got there in about ten minutes. The house was quiet on the outside; plain and white. There wasn't much to expect from it. Good thing I know better. The moment we made it through the front door, we were bombarded with color and lights. It wasn't usually like this. Quite the contrary, it was normally pristine and perfect and … you know … normal. She must've kicked her old man, Cid, and her older brother out or something because they would never **let **her do this to the house. As for Rikku herself … why does it look like she's wearing a bikini? I mean seriously, a yellow bikini top and short shorts … and I don't even want to know what's going on with her hair. Riku must really like 'weird', though, because he completely ignored its strangeness and went to hug her (a really touchy-feely hug that seemed like something I shouldn't be watching happen).

"So … now we have to get everything set up. Everyone's coming over in about two hours and I did most of the decorations so we could get everything just right! Sora and Naminé, you guys work on the food. Roxas and Riku, you guys work on the music. Garnet and I are going to set up the backyard. If we need anything we'll call for you guys. Let's get moving!"

Naminé, who had just come downstairs, was staring blankly at Rikku but seemed to understand that she needed to move. None of us tried to argue. You never argue with Rikku. Ever. If there's one thing that makes Riku and Rikku a good match, it's how insane they both are when they get mad or jealous. Then you usually want to run away. I practically was … and I dragged Naminé with me since she's probably the only protection I have (or someone to talk to).

"So, any luck on the Kairi situation?" Naminé asked as we got to setting up whatever food we could find, heated and cold-served. I shook my head.

"Nope. I can't for the life of me figure out what could be wrong but I guess that just me …"

Naminé patted my shoulder calmly and smiled.

"It won't stay like this forever, Sora, I just know it. Things will work out; you're too good of a person for them not to."

"I hope so," I sighed, "Thanks Naminé."

She nodded back at me before grabbing two bowls full of chips and starting out to the living room.

"I'm going to get changed so do you think you could take the rest of this stuff in for me?" Naminé asked. I muttered a small 'yeah' back before grabbing a few trays myself and following her into the other room.

Not long after, people started arriving and piling into the house. Plenty of people I recognized from school were there (Seifer and his gang included unfortunately). I went to find Garnet who was over by the window talking to Paine. The moment she spotted me, she reached out her hand and I laced our fingers together. The sounds of MCR played in the background and I could look over to see Riku and Rox handling the music as expected. No one was really dancing but the music was certainly getting to everyone. Hips were swaying and hands were raised. Just by the staircase, Rikku was standing and looking accomplished. She caught our eyes and waltzed over.

"See? Aren't random parties the best?" she spazzed.

"Yeah, as long as no one 1) touches my shit and 2) destroys the house, I don't care," Paine listed off grumpily.

"I'm sure people would be too scared to touch anything of yours."

Riku and Roxas must've finally gotten all the music set up the way they wanted because they had decided to join this little gathering.

"Sure, Riku, that's what you think," Paine huffed. He only chuckled at her attitude. I shook my head at her myself as I relaxed more fully beside Garnet who in return squeezed my hand. Rikku scanned over all of her guest with a bright smile before sighing and turning her attention outside of the window.

"Now if only it was snowing …"

Roxas snorted at her statement and for once I refused to pass up the opportunity to spout some smart-ass comment at Rikku.

"Think about where we are, then think about what you just said. Now, smash your head into the wall a few times when you realize that what you just said was pretty god damned stupid."

Her response? Her middle finger. I didn't care, though, it was worth it. I could tell Riku was trying his absolute hardest not to laugh too, which just made this situation all the more funny.

"Sora, you're not funny. Riku, keep laughing and I'll shave your head."

He shut up quickly but the smirk was still on his face.

"Should I ask what was so funny?"

Everyone turned to see Naminé standing there in a completely new outfit … that no one expected to ever see her wearing. In a nutshell, it was all black, lacy, the skirt was seriously short, the boots went up to her knees and the tank top seemed to have been showing way too much skin. Strangely enough, it didn't seem to make her look whorish or dirty. She just looked … attractive. I almost started twitching at the fact that I actually even saw my brother's girlfriend that way. The idea was enough for me to back up a bit to smush my face into Garnet's neck (which she apparently found amusing). Roxas, being Naminé's boyfriend, had no problem vocalizing how he felt.

"God damn, Naminé. I didn't think it was possible for you to get even sexier but you did it!" he said, his wide eyes scanning every inch of her (and successfully creeping me out). She only giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the group.

"Try not to use the bedroom at the very back of the top floor!" Rikku shouted at them. God knows if they actually heard her but I wasn't concerned anymore. My face was still partially imbedded into Garnet's neck and she'd taken to stroking her fingers through my hair. I could feel my shoulders relaxing and the urge to sit down and snuggle up with her was a little overwhelming.

"Paine, you wouldn't mind if I borrowed Garnet for a moment?" I asked, already started to pull Garnet with me. At some point Paine had pulled out her phone and only looked up from it for a second to acknowledge me.

"Hm? Oh, you can keep her; I don't give a damn …"

Pleasant, isn't she? I didn't dwell on it, though and only hesitated to let Riku and his blonde sugar bomb of hyperness know what was going on.

"Oh sure," Rikku said, "Just no getting' it on on top of my couches. I think I'm gonna go break out the booze, that'll make this more interesting!"

I guess I should've been paying more attention to what she said.

… It would've definitely saved us all the drama just waiting to pop up.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Haha … yeah I once again apologize for how long it took to update this. The chapter seemed kind of short but I didn't want to drag in the net part because then everything would've been too long. So instead, I left you all with a lovely cliffhanger. The craziness is ready to begin, so hopefully I'll see you next chapter! Review!


	7. Partied Too Hard

Chapter 7: Partied too Hard

A/N: My update schedule has been crazy, I know. For that, I deeply apologize. It doesn't help that things don't get considerably interesting until chapter nine so I haven't really been into writing it. Not to mention, I've got two other stories I'm working on: one I'm trying to keep updated regularly as well, and the other I haven't even put on FFnet yet. Not to mention, I rarely get to use the computer so I don't get to type as often. I'll try my hardest to not update so infrequently but I can't promise fast ones until I get a new computer. Also, my attention span is really short … I forgot where I was going with that but anyway, here's the new chapter. Read and review!

Warnings: Language, mentions of alcohol, Sora having a perv moment … that's it really.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or The Legend of Zelda.

Reviews:

ClassicCartoon27- Glad to know I'm keeping you interested. Thanks for the review!

Yet another lack of reviews … Ah well, I won't stop writing just because of that but it still makes me a bit upset to only get one review. I'll currently blame it on my horrible updating schedule but I hope I can get more people to say something this chapter.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

My first thought as I woke up was … why am I waking up in the first place? I don't even remember falling asleep! My second thought was … why am I upside down? My third thought was … why am I on the couch upside down in nothing but boxers that I'm sure I didn't come here wearing? My fourth thought … where's Rikku so I can go kill her? All in all, I wasn't having a very good morning. In fact, I was really irritated. That, and I was experiencing a killer hang-over that would explain why I can't remember half of last night. My eyesight was blurred slightly and I took the time to rub the sleep out of my eyes before I heard a groan next to me. Next question … why are both Garnet and I upside down on the couch and half naked? I'd seriously like to know what happened!

As I continued to freak out silently, Garnet opened her eyes with another groan and sat up. Her hair was messy and for some strange reason, she was wearing a bright red bikini that had my own eyes glued to her figure. The funny thing was, though, that not only did she slip off of the couch when she sat up, but her bikini top slid completely off her. I, being the typical teenage boy, couldn't stop myself from staring. Damn. She's well endowed. The only thing that could ruin this moment? … The fact that she realized I was staring. I only noticed it when she gasped but I couldn't tear my eyes from her breasts. They were just too perky.

"Sora!"

It took me a while to respond.

"Hmm?"

Unfortunately, the nice view I had was covered by her hands, forcing my eyes back to her face. Her cheeks were completely red. It took this long for my normal politeness to come back and I blushed as well and apologized. That just might have been what saved me from getting slapped. She huffed and grumbled something like 'you didn't have to stare' as she pulled the bikini top back on before she stopped to look down at herself in confusion. I had temporarily forgotten the situation in favor of Garnet's boobs but it came back to me pretty quickly when she started talking.

"... Why am I wearing a red bikini?" She looked up at me, "And why do you only have boxers on?"

I rolled off the couch to land beside her and cracked my stiff neck before shrugging.

"Beats me. Hopefully someone else will remember something," I said truthfully. I really had no idea what happened and had the sudden strong need to get my pants back before someone came downstairs.

Unfortunately fate doesn't like me that well.

Tidus, of all people, came ambling down the stairs with a completely confused look on his face. He stared ahead of himself for a moment as if he wasn't sure where he was, and then turned his attention to us. We were both staring as if we were deer caught in headlights but he seemed to not have noticed. I didn't know if I should've taken that as a good or bad sign. He didn't do or say anything for a while though. He just … stood there. I finally decided to break the silence when it was getting to be too much.

"... Tidus?"

He didn't say anything.

"Tidus?"

Still nothing.

Good lord, please don't let this be the start of the Zombie Apocalypse. If Tidus comes running for our flesh, I'm not hesitating to put a knife through his brain.

"Tidus, man, what's up?" I tried again. Thankfully, he answered.

"... Where am I?"

Sometimes, I worry about him.

"You're in Rikku's house. It's the day after that obnoxious party she threw, remember?"

"... no?"

"Oh god ..."

Sadly, he didn't seem to be that worried about the fact that he couldn't remember a thing. He just scratched his head and made his way to the kitchen. I decided he wasn't worth the effort of worrying over and instead opted for finding pants. Garnet was still trying to get over the fact that none of us knew what happened last night so I went to get her a towel. After finally finding some jeans (who knows who they belonged to but if they fit then they were most likely either mine or Roxas'), I started to head upstairs to see if anyone else was awake. There were no sounds of movement but one of the doors was open. And it was just who I needed to see.

"Rikku ..."

She was in the middle of brushing her hair and yelped in surprise and pain when my bursting in caused her to yank on her hair too hard. Hmph. She totally deserved it. It eased my mind a bit when the expression on her face as she turned around was apologetic but she certainly wasn't getting away with it that easy. I noted the fact that she was back in normal clothes (a yellow short sleeve and black shorts) and that her face was relatively pain free (aside from the grimace she had from yanking on her own hair) meaning she wasn't suffering from the headache we all seemed to have. Which also meant that she probably wasn't hung-over. Which meant that she probably remembers what happened last night.

"Spill."

She knew exactly what I was talking about, which would explain why her grimace only deepened. But it happened for a split second and I was lucky to have caught it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said a bit too quickly. She was never very good at lying.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," I said, my attitude worsening, "You remember what happened last night with everyone, don't you?"

The look on her face only seemed to shout 'guilty'.

Suddenly, there was a hand on my head and I was tempted to shout and start swinging … until I remembered that Riku's the only person who ever pats my head like that. Especially when I'm feeling particularly angry … towards Rikku. His hand stayed there for a few moments before he pushed me inside the room. I stood by the door as he walked over to Rikku's bed and sat down, sighing tiredly.

"She was video-taping everything."

"Riku!"

I figured that would be the case. I just hope I can find where it is so I can possibly burn the camera. I didn't need it to figure out what was going on since Riku seemed to remember everything as well. Shaking my head, I went to sit down on the end of the bed, waiting for an explanation. Riku started.

It took maybe an hour for him to finish, what with Rikku continually freaking out every time he brought up something embarrassing, but after it was over, I suddenly wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"So I really—?"

"Yup."

"And you really—?"

"Yup."

…

Although, the fact that I streaked across the entire neighborhood was finally my answer as to why I was wearing different boxers … and nothing else. It still didn't explain why Garnet was only in a bikini. I made sure to vocalize my concern about that.

"Um, I don't really know. One moment, she's wearing the green dress she came in and next moment, she's in a tiny red bikini," Rikku said, just as confused as I was (even though my face turned red as I was once again reminded of the close up and personal view of Garnet's breasts I had gotten due to that very tiny bikini she was wearing). Another thought crossed my mind.

"So then … where's everyone else? I caught Tidus walking around like a zombie but I didn't see anyone else …" I trailed off.

"Somewhere either up here or on the front yard," Rikku answered nonchalantly. My eyebrow twitched a little at that and I suddenly felt the urge to look out of Rikku's bedroom window. Sure enough, there were a bunch of hung-over teenagers sprawled across the front yard as if they had just fallen there. I don't know what face I made when I turned back to Rikku but she seemed to have found it somewhat disturbing from the way she refused to look at me.

"Why did I come here again?" I asked myself rhetorically as I buried my face into my hands. Thankfully, no one answered. I left the room, figuring that whatever video it was that Rikku had made will probably pop up sometime and I'd get the chance to torch it then. In the meantime, I made my way across the hall just as Garnet came out of the bathroom with new clothes on. They looked way too dark for her which meant they were probably Paine's but I was just glad she got some actual clothes on. Her face turned a bit red when she looked at me but thankfully she smiled and I figured that she wasn't really angry with me for catching a peek.

"I just have to find Rox, and then we can head home 'kay?" I asked. She nodded and went back downstairs just as Paine opened the door from another room and stared at me for a bit.

"Pervert," she grumbled before closing her door again. I didn't really know what to say so I just resumed my search for my older brother. It was quite interesting seeing all the people sprawled out on the floors of a bunch of rooms but it didn't get to be an eyesore until I actually found the room in which my brother inhabited for the moment. He was lying on the floor … completely naked (rear-end facing up thankfully). I'm guessing Naminé was as well but at least she was on the bed and had covers over her. The scene made my head ache that much worse. I grabbed one of the pillows at my feet, not bothering to wonder how it got to the door, and threw it at my brother's exposed butt. He twitched before sighing and ignoring me. That wasn't good. I had run out of stray pillows. Instead, I opted for the next best thing. I walked over and kicked him in the ass. That got him to wake up. He jolted up and looked around for the culprit before his eyes settled on me and he glared tiredly.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Get dressed, dude, it's ..." I checked the clock sitting on top of a dresser, "Ten-thirty. We should really head home."

He sighed again before nodding and getting to his feet to wake Naminé up. I didn't stay for that show; once was enough and Garnet's my girlfriend so it's not that worrying. I headed down to the kitchen just as everyone started to wake up and move about. Tidus was still there, huddled in a chair as Yuna fixed him some tea. I went to the refrigerator to pick out something to eat before settling for a glass of water. Yuna smiled and said good morning while Tidus continued groaning in agony from whatever horrifying head-ache he was experiencing. I nodded my good morning, understanding Tidus' pain and need for peace and quiet. Then, I sat down with my water and waited. It took a while, but, slowly, people started filing in to find either their clothes, some food, or both. Garnet, having gotten dressed in a black tank top and dark grey skinny jeans, didn't need to find her dress and I didn't really care that I had no shirt on. That coupled with the fact that I could just go home and cook my own breakfast meant that Garnet and I could just head home. I'm sure Roxas will drag his lazy ass home when he feels like it so I didn't worry about him too much. I had a feeling today would pass by quickly anyway.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Eh. I was wrong.

Today couldn't have been any slower. It felt like a day on Pluto for goodness sakes! After we left Rikku's house, Garnet headed to her own and I came back to mine. I'm sure she wanted time to herself to think about that stupid party. Roxas didn't get back until about an hour after I got home but the moment he stepped foot into the living room, he sought out the couch and flopped onto it, unconscious the moment his face hit the leather. No one else was home since Mom had work, Dad had meetings, and Vanille … god knows what she was doing but whatever. That left me with absolutely nothing to do the entire day. I didn't feel like going out for the day, my head hurt too much to read or get on the computer, and I wasn't tired. After about an eternity of doing nothing, I decided to ignore the pinching feeling between my eyes and play Twilight Princess. Roxas had been fully spread out across the couch so I had no problem with using his back as my seat. He wouldn't know anyway.

I had gotten to the part where Link and Midna leave Hyrule castle after talking to Zelda when someone finally walked through the door. Unfortunately, though, it was my mother. Which was bad. She took one look at me and freaked. Well, more like she squeaked and fell back against the door before flitting towards me and grabbing my face between her hands. Her reaction got even worse when she noticed who I was sitting on. It took about ten seconds of awkward silence for me to even say something.

"Um … hey Mom …" I said, smiling weakly. Twilight Princess was long forgotten in favor of my Mother's distraught expression.

"What happened?" she asked immediately.

"Rikku's party …?" I said, unsure of what her reaction to that may be. It wasn't too scary. She just made a face before staggering upstairs. Just after that, Roxas decided he would turn over which ended with me being thrown off his back.

"Serves you right," he mumbled before turning his head to face the couch and going back to sleep. Sighing, I got back up and turned the TV and the Wii off (after being able to save my game) before heading upstairs myself to get changed and maybe some proper, more comfortable sleep.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

School the next Monday was as normal as it could've been. I walked to school, went through my first two classes just fine with the third one as an exception to the normal routine. Lunch consisted of the same antics: Tidus cracking obnoxious jokes, Roxas saving Axel and Demyx from getting dragged to the principal's office, Rikku being loud and hyper, Selphie joining Rikku in the whole being loud and hyper thing, Naminé smiling calmly and probably thinking to herself ways that she can send us all to an asylum, Yuna actually eating her lunch, and me just talking to Riku. My last four classes when by without incident and I went home … not being a very happy camper. Why? It all started with third period …

"_Alright everyone," Marluxia (aka the Director) said, "I'm going to assign partners to work with each other at home. No, you may not choose, nor may you switch. Be happy with who you get because you're working with this person at home until dress rehearsals start."_

_Everyone started talking amongst themselves, wondering who they'd be partnered with. From what Marluxia implied, we weren't going to be working with our regular partners by default which was understandable. What better way to interact with the other characters in a more organized way? This also meant that I wasn't working with Kairi, which was a big relief for me._

"_Starting off, I have to have the main characters stick with each other so Katherine and Petruchio will continue working with each other as will Bianca and Lucentio. That means Sora and Kairi, you guys are still partners. Same with you, Pence and Olette. Now, for the others …"_

…

_You have got to be shitting me._

_My eyes drifted to Kairi to find her face bright red and her glare trained on me. I felt as if it would make my hair catch fire or something. Maybe there's a Brightside to this. Maybe now I can figure out why Kairi keeps giving me the evil eye. That is … if I can get her to talk to me without ripping my throat out._

So, the obvious reason as to why I'm not a happy camper would probably be because Kairi's walking behind me to my house right now. And the play isn't until April. This is going to be a long five months.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Pretty short chapter but then again, I'm trying to keep the chapters in this story relatively short. I don't like it when they get above five thousand words. And this chapter's really just setting up for the next chapter. Anyway, review please. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon (it helps that I've already started it).


	8. Back to the What?

Chapter 8: Back to the what?

A/N: Somewhat boring chapter ahead. Just Sora and Kairi bantering. Enjoy and review. This would've been out earlier if it weren't for the fact that I haven't been near a computer in five days.

Warnings: A lot of dialogue and some language

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney, Final Fantasy belongs to Square Soft/Square Enix, A Goofy Movie belongs to Disney (I2I sung by Tevon Campbell), and The Taming of the Shrew obviously belongs to William Shakespeare. I own the plot and someday, the world.

Reviews:

Q-A the Authoress- … ehhhh

Inarx- Ha ha wow, that's pretty epic. I'm glad to hear that you can actually connect with the story that way, though. And thanks for reviewing!

ClassicCartoon27- true, very true …

Lines that Kairi says are italicized and underlined. Lines that Sora says are just in italics (not counting the first paragraph in this chapter).

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_I got myself a notion. One I know that you'll understand. To set the world in motion by reaching out for each other's hand. Maybe we'll discover what we should've known all along. Yeah. One way or another, together's where we both belong. If we listen to each other's hearts, we'll find we're never too far apart. And maybe love is the reason why for the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye. If a wall should come between us, too high to climb, too hard to break through, I know that love will lead us and find a way to bring me to you—_

"… Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there a reason your phone is blasting Disney music?"

"… No?"

"Can you please turn it off then?"

"Got a problem with Disney, Kairi? You used to love this movie."

"And I still do, but we have work to do so kindly turn the music off before stab you with my pencil."

Grumbling, I turned the music off. It took forever to get that song and I got it just to warm Kairi up a little. It obviously didn't work as well as I had planned. Though it's nice to hear that she still loves Disney. I was hoping she would still have that in common with me. We were born Disney geeks and we shall die Disney geeks. But I understand that now isn't the time for _A Goofy Movie_ songs, we have a play to practice for and Shakespeare should be the only thing on the brain right now.

"So, which scene are we starting with?" I asked, grabbing my script.

"Act one, scene two," she sighed, her own script open and ready.

"... The 'knock me here' scene?"

"... Yup."

"So, I'm still Petruchio and I guess you'll be Grumio?"

"... Yup."

"Then who's going to be Hortensio?"

"... I have no idea."

"We could call Bartz ..."

"No, he'll bring that stupid bird with him."

"He doesn't bring Boko to class ..."

"That's because he would be suspended."

"... Okay, fine, Bartz is out. What else are we supposed to do?"

"Pretend he's here."

"Or we could always-"

"Pretend he's here."

I've learned not to argue with Kairi. There could be serious consequences.

"I guess we could just stop before his character appears."

"Fair enough."

The only sound then was the rustling of papers as we found the scene before I cleared my throat and started.

"_Verona, for a while I take my leave, to see my friends in Padua, but of all my best beloved and approved friend, Hortensio; and I trow this is his house. Here, sirrah Grumio; knock I say_."

"_Knock, sir? Whom should I knock? Is there man has rebused your worship_?"

"_Villain, I say, knock me here soundly_."

"_Knock you here, sir! Why, sir, what am I, sir, that I should knock you here, sir_?"

"_Villain, I say, knock me at this gate and rap me well, or I'll knock your knave's pate_!"

"_My master is grown quarrelsome. I should knock you first, and then I know after who comes by the worst_."

"_Will it not be? Faith, sirrah, and you'll not knock, I'll ring it; I'll try how you can sol, fa, and sing it_."

By this point, I couldn't stop giggling. Not only was the entire conversation absurd, but I actually had to grab Kairi's ears and the look on her face when I did was priceless. There seemed to be even more emotion in her voice when she answered.

"_Help, masters, help! My master is mad_!"

At that point, we had to stop but the funny thing was that I still had hold of Kairi's ears when my big sister came down the stairs complaining about the noise. She spotted the position we were in and her gaze shifted between us before her eyes landed on me.

"... I know mum raised you better than that."

I immediately let go, my face turning completely red. Kairi calmly explained what was going on since I couldn't make my jaw muscles work.

"Ah, that's right! You guys are practicing for a play! Which one again?" Vanille asked after Kairi finished explaining.

"The Taming of the Shrew," I answered.

"Oh right! You **are** the Shakespeare geek, I guess that's to be expected," she squealed at me, clapping her hands in excitement. I knew she meant no harm by it and had no way with words but it still stung a little to be called that.

"Right, and we have to get back to that particular play, Vanille, so if you would please," Kairi said, beckoning my big sis away. Vanille nodded her understanding and waltzed back up the stairs.

"So, um, on to act two?" I asked, clearing my throat yet again. She nodded and we flipped through our scripts to the act. It just happened to be the one where Kate and Petruchio meet and start to argue. This was going to be interesting. Skipping right to the part where everyone exits, I started.

"_I will attend her here, and woo her with some spirit when she comes. Say that she rail; well then I'll tell her plain she sings as sweetly as a nightingale: say that she frown, I'll say she looks as clear as morning roses newly wash'd with dew: Say she be mute and will not speak a word; then I'll commend her volubility, and say she uttereth piercing eloquence: If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks as though she bid me stay by her a week: If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day when I shall ask the banns and when be married. But here she comes; and now, Petruchio, speak_."

Already, Kairi had a sour look on her face. I hadn't done anything yet so I guess she's just getting into character.

"_Good morrow, Kate; for that's your name, I hear_," I finished.

"_Well have you heard, but something hard of hearing: They call me Katharina but do talk of me_."

"_You lie, in faith; for you are call'd plain Kate, and bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the cursed; but Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom Kate of Kate hall, my super dainty Kate, for dainties are all Kates, and therefore, Kate, take this of me, Kate of my consolation; hearing thy mildness praised in every town, thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded, yet not so deeply as to thee belongs, myself am moved to woo thee for my wife_."

I had to once again, hold back any laughter. Not only was this play funny as crap in some aspects (though the end still irks me) but I got to poke fun at Kairi without the possibility of her kicking my ass! She seemed to notice that, but rolled her eyes and continued on with the scene.

"_Moved! In good time: let him that moved you hither remove you hence: I knew you at the first you were a movable_."

"_Why, what's a movable_?"

"_A joint'd stool_."

"_Thou hast hit it: come, sit on me_."

… Petruchio's kind of a perv. Man, it felt awkward to say that last line. Anyway …

"_Asses are made to bear, and so are you_."

"_Women are made to bear and so are you_."

"_No such jade as you, if me you mean_."

"_Alas! Good Kate, I will not burden thee, for, knowing thee to be but young and light_-"

"_Too light for such a swain as you to catch; and yet as heavy as my weight should be_."

"_Should be! Should—buzz_!"

"_Well ta'en and like a buzzard_."

"_O slow-wing'd turtle! Shall a buzzard take thee_?"

"_Ay, for a turtle, as he takes a buzzard_."

"_Come, come, you wasp! I'faith you are too angry_."

"_If I be waspish, best beware my sting_."

"_My remedy is then, to pluck it out_."

"_Ay, if the fool could find it where it lies_."

"_Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail_."

"_In his tongue_."

"_Whose tongue_?"

"_Yours, if you talk of tails: and so farewell_."

"_What? With my tongue in your tail? Nay, come now, good Kate; I am a gentleman_."

"_That I'll try_."

At this moment in time, Katherine is supposed to slap Pertruchio in the face (which was quite understandable since the man sure didn't speak like a gentleman) but it was somewhat of a hassle convincing Kairi beforehand to not actually slap me. Thankfully, she didn't. We had to skillfully maneuver our hands so that they made a slapping noise out of sight as her hand falsely connected with my face. I'd say it was pretty convincing. This would be one of the many reasons why I'm glad Kairi is my partner; she doesn't mess around when it comes to acting.

"_I swear I'll cuff you if you strike again_."

"_So may you lose your arms: If you strike me, you are no gentleman; and if no gentleman, why then no arms_."  
>"<em>A herald, Kate? O, put me in thy books<em>."

"_What is your crest? A coxcomb_?"

"_A combless cock, so Kate will be my hen_."

"_No cock of mine, you crow like a craven_."

"_Nay, come, Kate, come; you must not look so sour_."

"_It is my fashion, when I see a crab_."

"_Why, here's no crab; and therefore look not sour_."

"_There is, there is_."

"_Then show it me_."

"_Had I a glass, I would_."

"_What, you mean my face_?"

"_Well aimed of such a young one_."

"_Now, by Saint George, I am too young for you_."

"_Yet you are wither'd_."

"_Tis with cares_."

"_I care not_."

"_Nay, hear you, Kate: in sooth you scape not so_."

"_I chafe you, if I tarry: let me go_!"

"_No, not a whit: I find you passing gentle. 'Twas told me you were rough and coy and sullen, and now I find report a very liar; for thou are pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous, but slow in speech, yet sweet as spring-time flowers: thou canst not frown, thou canst not look askance, nor bite the lip, as angry wenches will, nor hast thou pleasure to be cross in talk, but thou with mildness entertain'st thy wooers, with gentle conference, soft and affable. Why does the world repeat that Kate doth limp? O slanderous world! Kate like the hazel twig is straight and slender and as brown in hue as hazel nuts and sweeter than the kernels. O let me see thee walk: thou dost not halt_."

"_Go, fool, and whom thou keep'st command_."

"_Did ever Dian so become a grove as Kate this chamber with her princely gait? O, be thou Dian, and let her be Kate; and then let Kate be chaste and Dian sportful!_"

"_Where did you study all this goodly speech_?"

"_It is extempore, from my mother-wit_."

"_A witty mother! Witless else her son_."

"_Am I not wise_?"

"_Yes; keep you warm_."

I was snapped out of my character the moment I heard applause. Kairi had apparently noticed it as well and we both stared at each other in confusion before searching for the source of the sound. Right at the bottom of the stair case stood both my parents and my two siblings … applauding me. Oh god. When did they get there?

"Umm ..." I started.

"That was a wonderful performance Sora!" Mom said excitedly.

"Eh … it was just practice," I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment. That wasn't the cleanest of scenes in this play and it worried me that they had watched an entire ten minutes of me and Kairi arguing in the Elizabethan equivalent of dirty talk and insults. The thought had my face heating up in no time.

"What are you guys watching us for anyway?" I asked.

"Vanille said you were practicing—"

I knew it. It's her fault.

"Hey! I thought they would want to watch!" she squeaked at the glare I sent her.

"Whatever, we need a break anyway," I sighed. Kairi probably agreed since she didn't protest. Though something seemed a little off with her. Like she was avoiding eye contact with anyone. Strange …

"I guess I can fix you some snacks, I've honestly got nothing better to do," Mom said. Dad snorted at the comment but Mom ignored him and made her way to the kitchen, Dad following after her with the promise of food. Vanille and Roxas continued standing at the staircase, Vanille spacing out and Roxas staring at us in knowing amusement. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"Nothing ..."

Awkward silence.

"... 'come sit on me' huh?"

"Shut up it's in the script!" I shouted.

"'My tongue in your tail' … huh?" he started giggling. My face may have possibly gotten redder.

"How immature," I huffed.

"Excuse me? You're the one with a picture on your door of a stick figure pimp slapping another stick figure into a hole with the words 'this is Sparta, bitch' underneath."

"Dude, don't diss the door poster."

Roxas only smirked and shook his head before heading back upstairs (and thankfully dragging Vanille with him). I promptly decided I needed sugar … well sugar and caffeine really since I was going to get a soda. I was about to ask Kairi if she wanted any as well when I noticed that she was still staring at the couch stiffly. Thinking quietly to myself, I went ahead in the kitchen and got myself a sprite and Kairi a strawberry soda (her favorite if I remembered correctly). Why not butter her up? It might just get me answers. Thankfully, she'd gone from staring at the couch weirdly to sitting on the couch but I most certainly didn't like the sad look on her face. It was like the look Moonlight gave me if I didn't give her parts of my dinner, except more disturbingly depressed. Since she was so busy being mopey and not noticing me, she of course jumped when I pressed the cold soda can to her forehead. To my surprise, she didn't do much aside from shoot me a dirty look before taking the can.

"Thanks," she said absently before doing a double take, her eyes wide as she looked at the can.

"You … you remembered that this is my favorite?" she asked, genuinely surprised.

"Mhm. It's not like I could just forget that easily."

"Wow, I'm surprised you would even bother with the way I've treated you," she snorted.

Aha! Just the topic I wanted to discuss!

"Speaking of that, would you like to explain why you treated me like the enemy?" I asked as I sat down next to her and opened my own soda. Her posture straightened and her entire body turned rigid which, I must say, had me quite worried.

"I … I can't …" she whispered, her face turned away. It almost looked like she was ashamed.

"Kairi …"

Still no change. I decided to test my luck and touch her shoulder gently. She jumped a bit but didn't smack my hand away like I expected. Instead, her shoulders started to quake and small sniffling noises started to fill the air. I couldn't help myself and before I even knew what I was doing, I pulled her in for a hug. Even more more surprisingly, she turned and started to cry softly into my shirt. I even caught her whisper 'I'm sorry' a few times. I was honestly worried. Why was Kairi crying?

What could she possibly be sorry for?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Whoa … cliffhanger. So, this was kind of a shorter chapter but oh well, I'll try to make the next one longer. I seriously think this story is writing itself; I didn't plan for half of this chapter to happen! Anyway, did anyone catch the FFV reference? Bartz's chocobo's name is Boko. Also, this entire thing reminded me of how awkward I felt in middle school when we read this play and I was the only one laughing at the scenes mentioned in this chapter. Seriously, I was the only one who got the humor! It was saddening!


	9. Awkward Much

Chapter 9: Awkward Much?

A/N: Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance comes out in Japan in March 2012 … FOR THE WIN.

Warnings: angry mobs chasing me down the street for the lack of Sokai in this chapter …

Disclaimer: Those wonderful people working with Square Enix can tell you … I don't own Kingdom Hearts … I have copies of the games, but the title belongs to Tetsuya Nomura and all his epic peoples (who better come out with KH3D soon).

Reviews:

Inarx- Ha ha, I tend to do that. 'Kay, just kidding, I don't. Thanks for the review.

Isabelz3Cookies-Yes, there was. Yes, it is. I'm sure you do, that's a good thing! No, there won't, that'd be too easy. Here it is. XD

Q-A the Authoress-Please do, she is not the enemy here. *hive five for being a fellow Disney geek*

ClassicCartoon27-Yep. It's confusing. But that's what makes it so fun.

OuiSexSi-I now feel very accomplished (lol). Thanks for the review.

Versivalia-ehh … it's not a very comforting reason, but you'll find that out later.

Thank you everyone for the reviews! I would've gotten this out sooner but I wasn't near my computer for a week and I spent all weekend playing Birth by Sleep. Eheheh … sorry. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

So …

Here I am, sitting around on a bench in the park with Moonlight on one side of me and Serah, as well as her son, on the other side of me as I spout out my anxieties about what's to become of me. Oh, I know. I guess I'll rot away and become worm food. It's truly a happy ending to my pitiful life. Why? Well …

"_I'm so sorry Sora."_

"_For what?" I asked, "What happened, Kairi?"_

_She sniffled for a bit and shuffled around as if she didn't know what to say._

"_I …"_

_Another pause._

"_I have to go," she said suddenly as she got up, gathered her stuff, and left me on the couch in complete confusion._

"So now I'm here being depressed and letting you share my wallowing in sorrow with me," I told Serah which only made her laugh.

"Honestly, if that's how she reacted then she probably needs you to go to her and really listen to what she has to say. It must be important if she feels guilty and needs to hide whatever it is but at the same time, it must involve you. Just try talking to her," Serah said. I was a little afraid to tell her that I had tried calling Kairi later about it and she threatened to tie my spikes in a knot and hang me off the Empire State Building with them if I told anyone she cried. Of course I never would have, but her tone told me that the case was closed and I should back off before something bad happens. I happen to like my spikes and my life. I don't want either of them hanging from a skyscraper in New York.

"Trust me Serah; Kairi's a tough nut to crack. She's not going to let me in that easily just because I saw her cry," I sighed. Moonlight barked as if in agreement. Serah only sighed in exasperation as she probably felt that I was being a cowardly idiot. Heck, I felt that way too but who wouldn't be if they had to face Kairi's wrath. Need I repeat: _Empire State Building_.

"I'm just saying you shouldn't let this situation sit, especially if this has been happening since middle school. You really should try to talking to her," Serah told me.

"As much as I agree, I kinda value my life," I retorted. Serah rolled her eyes.

"Do I need to call my sister and bring her into this?"

In case you all didn't know, Serah's horrifying excuse for a human being sister is the lovely yet terrible Claire Farron. She goes by the name Lightning. Why? Let's just say that her bite is one thousand times worse than her bark as she prefers to strike first and ask question later. Kinda like the director's girlfriend Larxene (whom I had only very recently learned the existence of). Anyway, she wasn't exactly a helpful option for me as I had met her once and she made me want to hide in a hole. I didn't but god did I want to. Serah knew this too, I could by the evil look in her eyes as she pulled out her cell phone, causing me to shake my head frantically and grab her phone to end the call before it could even be made. Serah sighed again as she took the phone back.

"She would've helped," Serah grumbled.

"To kill me, you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

"Of course not! … Okay maybe?"

I'm entirely sure what face I made at her but it probably wasn't a very pretty one. Her lip kind of curled when I made it.

"Sora, I was kidding. My sister is not out to kill fifteen year olds over their problems."

"Oh, so it's just me?"

"Last I checked, you're fifteen—"

"And a half."

"— don't interrupt me. Claire doesn't have a problem with you; she has a problem with everyone in general. That doesn't mean she's going to kill everyone just because she doesn't like people."

I huffed in annoyance and stood. I had to move around a bit before I ended up biting someone's hand off just to let off steam.

"She also scares me more than Kairi and I'd like to keep my Kairi dilemma in front-center before I have to run from your violent, pink-haired, anger management issue of a sister," I groaned.

"She's not that bad. I'm sure she'd be helpful …"

"My mom gives better advice … and she sucks at giving advice. Once in elementary school, I asked if she could help me stop some kid from bullying me without violence getting involved and she told me not to worry 'cause she'd beat his head in herself. I mean, that's not even advice. It was actually quite frightening."

Serah stood up as well and rested her hand on my shoulder.

"Sora …"

"And what was worse? My dad said he'd run the kid over with his motorcycle!"

"… Sora?"

"And then Vanille said she'd set his house on fire and Roxas suggested dynamite instead."

"…"

"Yeah, I'd be speechless about my family too. That's why I came to you about this situation."

Once again, Moonlight barked as if in agreement. Serah only blinked at me. Her face looked a little pale.

"Um … I'm glad I could be of service?"

"Thanks."

Serah shook her head and bent down to pet Moonlight (who reveled in the motion like the attention whore she is).

"Sora, don't change the subject on me. Don't run from this either. You need to confront Kairi about what happened. Try it when you go to work, you're heading there in a few, right?"

I nodded, not really sure what to say. I couldn't really confront Kairi about it since Garnet recently started visiting me at my job and I didn't want to seem like some lying, cheating bastard. Although I was still somewhat confused as to why she wanted to visit anyway. Now that I think about it, though, she only started visiting when that new guy Zidane started working at Emory's. Hmm … maybe they know each other…

"Sora, be careful. You know I care about you as if you were my own little brother," Serah said as she stood up again from her crouch to hug me. I accepted it without much thought.

"I know. Thanks Serah," I sighed as the hug ended just before ruffling the tiny amount of silver-ish hair on Hope's head and waving goodbye to Serah. She waved back with a small smile on her face. Moonlight sniffed at Hope a bit more and jumped up at Serah happily before faithfully following me. I had to take her home first before heading to work so my legs were working in overdrive. We made it home within maybe two minutes as opposed to the seven or so minutes it normally took. As expected, mom was waiting for us at the back door. I sent Moonlight into the house, allowed mom to fuss over my appearance for a bit, then walked off to my impending doom.

I guess it's just inevitable …

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

" … _I'd chase them anywhere, there's time to spare. Let me share this whole new world with you _… "

My head tilted to the side a bit as I walked into Emory's for my shift. They must have a play going on because there were two extravagantly dressed actors on stage singing A Whole New World in perfect unison. I figured my Disney senses were tingling … I guess I know why now. As they finished the song, I headed further into the restaurant before I felt someone pat my shoulder.

"They're good, aren't they?"

It was Zidane. He happened to be just as short as I am so when I found his cheek almost touching mine, I felt just a little violated. I poked him in the cheek to push his face away.

"Dude, my personal space just suffered from an extremely brutal rape, you monster. Yeah, I know they're good but you could've told me without popping the figurative bubble surrounding the fragile thing called skin that I have all over me," I groaned. Zidane only laughed before patting my shoulder again and walking off. Well more like darting off … I swear to god that dude is a freaking monkey-human hybrid. … Oh god, he's the result of the Planet of the Apes! This is what modern science brings us!

"Sora, what are you doing?"

It was then that I realized I was staring after Zidane with a weird look on my face. I turned to find Garnet staring at me worriedly.

"Um … nothing. I should get changed. You found a seat, right?"

Mhm," Garnet nodded, "Right over there with Elise."

"Cool, see you when I get back," I said as I placed a chaste kiss to her lips. She blushed in surprise before heading back to her seat with a dazed look on her face (which I have to admit had me a bit worried). I shook my head and let it go since I needed to get to work. Just as I got the dressing rooms, I noticed a familiar head of red hair spread over the table top. I couldn't help it … I poked her. She jumped up immediately and grabbed my index finger with a look of irritation on her face. When she saw it was me, the look faded.

Ha, I wish. No it just got worse.

"What, Sora?" she growled.

"Nothing, just making sure you aren't dead," I replied. She looked dead tired, making somewhat less nervous that she'd carve out my innards just because I poked her.

"I'm just sleepy," she affirmed with a yawn. I pulled my finger out of her grasp and sat down next to her.

"Why'd you come to work, then? I'm sure Emory would've understood," I told her and she shook her head.

"I needed to get out the house, it was suffocating in there," she replied. I propped my elbow on the table and poised myself into an 'I'm listening' pose but Kairi didn't continue. She looked way too distracted.

"You sure you don't want to head home and try to sleep? I'm sure if you ignore them, they won't bother you," I tried again.

"That won't work. Look I just …"

"Need to sleep? You can't do that on the job, Kairi. Here, how about we go out for ice cream later and you can fall asleep and I'll carry you home like the proper knight in shining armor?" I joked.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"It's just a thing between friends," I smiled.

"Yes, because Prince Charming was definitely Sleeping Beauty's best friend," Kairi snorted as she sat up.

"… Sure?"

Kairi stared at me for a moment before rolling her eyes.

"You're so oblivious."

"Hey, now—"

"And short."

I sent her a light glare.

"You're shorter than me, you hypocrite!"

"Yeah but I'm a girl so it's fine. You should've drunk your milk when you were younger," she said as she picked at her ear with a disinterested look on her face.

"I did so!"

"Cereal doesn't count."

I had no response to that and settled for sticking my tongue out at her. She only giggled and the atmosphere was lightened considerably. I decided to take a chance.

"So, about earlier …"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Bam! I just dropped an atomic bomb on my own ass. Yeah, I shouldn't have said anything. Damn it, Serah, I blame you!

"Eheh … yeah I figured," I mumbled as Kairi rested her head on the table top again.

"Just … ignore it Sora. It never happened," she grumbled.

I thought about it for a while and came to the conclusion that …

"I can't."

"Sora …"

"Or more like I won't. Whatever problem it is that you have with me we need to straighten out Kairi! You were my best friend and I can't even describe how it felt for you to suddenly ignore what we had for the past two years! Whatever guilt it is that your wallowing in isn't healthy and frankly, I don't think you're enjoying this either! Just … talk to me, please …"

I had nearly shouted this at her but I at least had enough sense to keep it down. Kairi's eyes widened in surprise as if she never expected me to lash out like that. Honestly, I didn't expect it either but I couldn't feel sorry for it. It was something Kairi needed to hear. And thankfully, it seemed she was actually thinking about what I said. I could see the little gears turning in her head. She said nothing else but I wasn't expecting her to. She was probably having a serious internal conflict right about now. That was satisfying enough for me to go ahead and get changed. No one was in the changing room so I was left in peace to think for myself how to get Kairi to respond a little better the next time this topic was brought up. I'd at least like to have her back as a friend if nothing else.

… Else? What else could she be?

I mashed my palms into my eyes, trying to clear my wayward thoughts. I'm dating Garnet. Garnet's the one I like … right?

"Sora, are you alright?" Emory's voice filtered though the door alongside his knocking.

"I'm fine," I replied in a weak voice. I'm confusing myself, I should just calm down and get to work.

Just as I stepped back out into the main part of the restaurant, something crashed into me and knocked me backwards into the dressing room door. I was even more confused to find that it was a head of curly, blonde hair hiding the face imbedded into my chest. And then it moved and I was oozing confusion when I saw that it was Tina.

"Umm …?"

"Sorry. I tripped," she explained as she straightened and smoothed out my shirt for me.

"No it's okay ..." I trailed off.

"I just had to get something from the dressing room for the two on stage. They're about to have a costume change and I'm the errand girl apparently," Tina sighed in her somewhat mousy voice. I stepped out of the way so that she could get her own job done before heading to the kitchen so that I could start mine.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Home again. After another long day filled with drama and other crap, I was dead tired. I had practically dragged myself home after dealing with too many people who couldn't tip well for shit. Whatever, at least the musical Emory put on was good and at least Kairi finally listened to me and went home early to go to sleep. I for one had to stay since they needed the extra help. Not that I felt overworked, of course I didn't, but I felt that my mind's been bombarded by way too much today. I just wanted to dive into my bed and sleep for the rest of my life. I had halfway accomplished that—my shirt and shoes were already lying on the floor of my room even though I could barely remember walking upstairs—but of course someone had to knock on the back door. Figuring that since they knew which door to knock at that they were someone we knew, I headed downstairs, groaning the entire time. By the time I reached the kitchen, I realized that Roxas had already answered the door. No one else but him, me, and Dad were there and it just so happened that Naminé was the one at the door. She had a slightly stressed look on her face as she walked into the kitchen and sat down right next to my dad. She acknowledged each of us before sighing deeply. Dad set down whatever he was working on to give her his full attention and Roxas rubbed her back, both of them already sensing that something was wrong.

"Naminé? What's wrong?" Roxas asked. Vanille and Mom appeared behind me as they both probably heard the door as well. Everyone was worried as Naminé took quite a while to say anything.

"I … I don't really know how to say this any other way but ..." she started. Everyone leaned in to listen since she was speaking quieter than usual.

" Naminé, you know you can tell us anything. Did something happen?" Mom asked. Something happened alright. I could see a mile away. Naminé sucked in a shaky breath before finally spitting it out.

"My parents kicked me out. I'm pregnant."

…

"Fuck."

That was Roxas' reaction. As for me, I'm just wondering what it is with parents kicking their pregnant daughters out in this town.

This is going to get complicated.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Uh oh. Yeah, I went there. Remember chapter 6? Yeah, that's why the end of this chapter **wasn't** completely random. Condoms … they're a good thing. Parties with alcohol … not so much.

I now own four copies of Bambi. Two on VHS and two on DVD. I don't really know what to say (seriously, three copies was enough. Just because the newest edition is digitally remastered does not mean it's not still Bambi). Just had to rant about that.

On another note, I just realized that the song Hellfire from the Hunchback of Notre Dame had the word licentious in its lyrics … okay then …

Sorry, I've been in a serious Disney mood for the past three days.

Moving on ...

Anyone catch the FFVI character? Tina Branford is the Japanese version of Terra's name in Final Fantasy. I always hated calling her Terra so I kept the Japanese version of her name. Not to mention, it's easier to get her mixed up with Terra from KH if her name is the same as his.

See you next chapter! Review please!


	10. Surprise

Chapter 10: Surprise?

A/N: It's now 2012 … yay.

Disclaimer: Do not own Kingdom Hearts. It be not mine.

Warnings: Language and a very angry Cloud Strife.

Reviews:

Isabelz3Cookies-Yeah, they did. They should be ashamed; they had everything going for themselves. Lol, life happens I guess. Thanks for the review and Happy New Year to you too.

Mirror's Deception-Eh well. I don't mind as long as I get _some_ reviews … Thanks for adding to them!

Q-A the Authoress-I know (MUAHAHA)

Versivalia-I knew someone would brandish a knife at me someday. No worries, the Sokai is coming soon but what's a story without the rising action? If I skip straight to the climax, it'll get boring really fast. Thanks for reviewing!

OuiSexSi-I had the exact same problem except I ended up playing as Ven all day long. Ah well, it's a fixable problem. I feel the exact same way when I'm mentioned in a story; that's why I answer reviews here instead of sending you all messages. It makes you feel loved :)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So then … what now?"

"Well she's obviously going to live with us now!"

"Do we even have the resources to take care of another person?"

"Shut up Vanille!"

"Roxas! Yes, Vanille, we'll be fine."

Count on Mom to be the optimistic one.

"Well, we have to think about this for a moment," Vanille started, "Both Naminé and Roxas are only teenagers—one year from graduating high school—and all of a sudden, they're having a baby thrown into their lives! Not only do their dreams go down the drain but there's a considerable amount of money needed to care for a baby that I doubt either of them has. Sure, they're mature enough to handle it but that doesn't mean they should have to!"

And Vanille chooses _now_ to be the smart one.

"I believe this entire thing started from irresponsibility anyway. There's a lot they're going to go through to make up for that …" she continued. No one really wanted to admit that she was right but it was so true at the same time …

" … I know that what we did was irresponsible and that it will take a lot to take care of a baby but I'd give up my own life before I gave up this child. Yeah, it'll be a lot of hardship but I'd like to think I'm prepared for that. After I found out, I gave this a lot of thought and I came to the same conclusion that I'll have to give a lot up but I can handle myself," Naminé said. Roxas gave her a worried look and rubbed her back in comfort.

"You're not going to be alone in this," he said.

"It's true," Mom added, "We'll all help out as much as we can! By the way, the moment you two graduate, you're getting married!"

"Oh, oh! Can I be the wedding planner!" Vanille squeaked excitedly, already over her unnatural moment of intelligence. I was a bit sad, she had actually started speaking normally and now she's back to that stupid Australian accent …

"Sure sweetie," Mom said (obviously lying).

"What about when I start … showing?" Naminé asked in a slightly embarrassed voice.

"Easy. I'll beat the shit out of anyone who says anything," Roxas replied simply.

"Roxas, stop being so violent! I swear you're just like your father!"

At that Dad rolled his eyes. Naminé didn't seem so reassured but said nothing else.

"Do you have any of your things from your house, Naminé? Should we go pick them up?" Mom asked.

"Yes, I do actually. Thank you. For everything," Naminé said, on the verge of tears. Roxas grabbed her and squished her to his chest. Mom and Dad stood to leave. I stood as well.

"I'll go with you guys," I volunteered. I wouldn't know what to do otherwise. Mom nodded.

"Do I get to take Fenrir?" Dad asked in his equivalent of excitement. It wasn't far off from normal excitement except for the fact that the look in his eyes didn't seem entirely sane.

"Of course you may **not** run these people over with your motorcycle!" Mom shouted. Leave it to her to understand Dad's weirdness. He sighed in defeat.

"The bastards would deserve it. Who the fuck kicks their seventeen year old pregnant daughter out? They don't deserve the mercy my foot would give them if I kicked their faces in," he grumbled as we walked outside towards the car. In some ways, I was happy my father didn't talk much because when he did, stuff like **that** came out of his mouth.

"Cloud …" Mom started. She understood this too, and though she agreed with how he felt about Naminé's predicament, she preferred it when he didn't threaten violence at people left and right and instead quietly read his newspaper and rolled his eyes at his crazy children.

"What?" he asked as he got into the driver's seat. He was obviously angry at Naminé's parents since by now he's already started to think of Naminé as another daughter. It was strange to think that at one point he felt the same about Kairi. She was like part of the family (and thankfully didn't mind how insane it is). I rubbed my forehead to push those thoughts out of my head. The car was already moving. The ride wasn't long at all because the car was only needed to carry Naminé's stuff. It was a little saddening to see it all sitting on the front porch of Naminé's (old) house. The moment we got there, Mom started grabbing things (what little there was) and putting it in the trunk and backseat. Dad and I stood at the door as I wanted to see what Dad would do since he had decided to knock on the door. There was a sound of grumbling and footsteps before the door opened to show Naminé's dad glaring down at the Naminé he thought was there.

"I told you to stay off this property—Oh?"

He finally looked up to realize that he was shouting at the wrong blonde. Dad was taller than Naminé's father so it was almost comical watching the stout man glare up at my father with a menacing look on his face. Dad glared back in disdain, already looking far more intimidating. It also helped that he was extremely muscular and had a super short temper if one knew which buttons to press. Naminé's dad had pushed all the wrong buttons.

"Need something, Strife?" Mr. Whitman (right, that's his name!) asked.

"Eh … just one thing …" Dad trailed off. I could see it before it even happened. One moment, Mr. Whitman was standing in his doorway glaring at us, the next he was on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. Dad cracked the knuckles on the particular fist he used before stooping down to level his face with Mr. Whitman's.

"Since you're not worth the dirt on the bottom of my shoes, I suppose I don't have to treat you like you are anymore," Dad growled as he raised his fist again. I decided to step in before he killed the man.

"Dad, he's not worth you getting arrested either. Let's just get out of here," I sighed as I pulled on my father's arm. He continued glaring daggers at Mr. Whitman for a few moments before standing up and huffing. He decided not to spare the man a kick to the ribs, though, before finally turning and headed back to the car with me on his heels. Mom had gotten everything in the car during that little fiasco and was standing by the passenger's seat with her arms crossed and a look of distaste on her face.

"Did you really have to beat him up?" she asked as we all got in.

"I didn't beat him up, I taught him a lesson. If I had beaten him up, he'd be dead," Dad said calmly. Mom sighed.

"I hope he doesn't charge you with assault."

"He knows better …"

Yeah, Dad's scary sometimes. This is why I'm glad he's **my** dad. He's a serious family man so while we're safe from any harm with him around, everyone else on the planet that isn't on his good list had better watch out. Not to mention, apparently the rest of his family is even worse. I had never met them, so I don't really know firsthand but from what I've heard, they aren't to be taken lightly.

"I take it you got everything?" Dad asked as we pulled into our own driveway.

"Yep. Naminé never did have much. I'm surprised such a sweet girl has such horrible parents …" Mom trailed off.

"And you were upset that I punched that man?" Dad mumbled. Mom still heard him.

"Yes well you see Cloud. When any other man punches another man, they stop there and move on. When you punch another man in the face, you not only cause serious damage to their face, but you practically torture them further until you're satisfied that they've learned their lesson. It's nice to know that you care so much about Naminé's well being and about children in general but you didn't have to leave that man in a puddle of his own blood. Not to mention, you did that when Sora was right there …"

"He's fine, Aerith, my sons are tough. They can handle a little blood if it comes to that. I seem to remember Sora punching a kid in the face until all that was left was a bloody mess simply because the kid made the mistake of putting his hands on Kairi and that was a few years ago. What I did isn't going to ruin Sora's mind," Dad said. I actually forgot about that until he mentioned it. The guy deserved it, though. Who said he had the right to feel Kairi up?

"Tough … more like violent …" Mom grumbled before adding louder, "They get it from you, you know!"

"Sure, says the woman who pushed my brother down the stairs because he grabbed your ass …"

"And it was his own damn fault too! He should've kept his hands to himself!"

My god, my family's crazy.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, what are you gonna do when the baby starts showing?" Selphie asked as she stuffed a fry in her mouth.

"Well, we graduate at the beginning of June and it's January now … I won't be showing for another month and a half … hmm, by June I shouldn't be huge. I'll be five months so I'll definitely be showing but it won't be like I can't do everyday things ..." Naminé answered simply. Selphie nodded and went back to her food.

"So you're still coming to school, even when you'll be showing?" Tidus asked.

"Yes. I do want to graduate!" Naminé laughed which caused Roxas to smile fondly at her. I myself was a little worried for them. High school was stressful and I'm sure neither Naminé nor the baby needed that.

"I'm surprised no teachers or the principal have said anything ..." Riku added, causing everyone to groan with apprehension. We hadn't considered that.

"It's no problem, Xemnas doesn't give a damn anyway," Roxas answered. One thing our principal was notorious for … not giving a damn.

"So, you're a month and a half now? When'll the morning sickness start?" Yuna asked.

"Hopefully not too soon," Naminé smiled and the other girls giggled.

"Hey, can I feel your belly?" Selphie asked with this creepy glint in her eyes.

"I doubt you'd feel anything right now ..."

"Aww."

"Well it's helpful to know that by the time you graduate, you can find out what gender the baby is," Yuna said.

"What names do you have in mind? You know, whether it's a boy or a girl?" Rikku asked.

"It'll be a boy," Roxas added in.

"How do you know?" Rikku shot at him.

"Trust me, Rikku, this is Roxas' child we're talking about. It's going to be a boy," I said, picking at my lunch rather than actually eating it. I was still kind of worried about Kairi and it was causing me to lose my appetite. She was nowhere to be seen and it made me a bit nervous. She wasn't even in drama earlier today. I hope I wasn't too harsh on her or something.

"Yeah, but it'll also be Naminé's son! Oh wait ..."

"Did you have another blonde moment?" Riku asked her. She nodded with an embarrassed look on her face. Roxas laughed arrogantly.

"See? Even your subconscious agrees with me!"

"You never did answer my question though," Rikku said, rolling her eyes at Roxas, "What will you name the baby?"

"For the love of god, don't make him Roxas Jr.," Tidus said, causing Roxas to flip him the bird. Naminé only laughed.

"I really don't know yet … I'm sure I'll figure it out someday ..." she sighed.

"Mom will help you; she's like the master at baby naming," I said.

"And yet she named her kid Roxas …?" Tidus asked skeptically.

"Shut up, Tidus!"

"I think that was because Mom didn't name him ..." I clarified.

"Well who did? They should be punched in the face!" Tidus laughed.

"I should punch you in the face! Quit making fun of my name!" Roxas shouted.

"Yeah, I mean look at yourself! Who names their kid 'Tidus'? Were you born during a low tide or something?" Rikku laughed.

"Shut your face blondie! At least I don't have the same name as my girlfriend!" Tidus sneered.

"You're more blonde than I am! And I'm proud to share my name with my wonderful Riku!" Rikku shouted back. Riku had no comment and only rubbed his forehead.

"How'd that even happen, anyway? Were you just drawn to one another?" Selphie asked.

"No," I said, "They thought it was weird that they had essentially the same name and somehow became friends from that. And then they started dating 'cause they're weird like that."

"Yeah, _someone's_ definitely weird!" Tidus grouched.

"Yeah, like you!" Rikku grumbled.

"Shut up with the bickering already!" Paine shouted, rubbing her temples in obvious irritation. Riku sighed, glad that someone said something. I would've forgotten she was there but Garnet was rested against her shoulder with one of her hands gripping one of my own pretty firmly (for someone who's sleeping, that is).

"Yeah! It's not good for the baby!" Selphie griped. Naminé rolled her eyes but stayed silent.

"Do you have a doctor already?" Wakka asked while Selphie made a face at him for stealing one of her fries. I didn't blame her, Riku and Rikku both kept stealing my food … but then again, I'm not even eating it so I guess I shouldn't care.

"Not yet, but I'll find one ..." Naminé answered.

"Isn't your mom a doctor?" Yuna asked Roxas.

"Pediatrician. She can't really do much for Naminé without it interfering with her actual job though she's going to definitely keep track of her health habits," Roxas answered.

"Maybe she can recommend someone," I suggested. Rox nodded.

"Probably. We should ask when we get home," he said.

Just then the bell rang and we all stood to go to our classes. I was practically dragging my feet into Algebra. My teacher paid no attention to it since he was used to everyone dragging their feet into his classroom but everyone else seemed to notice how unlike me my mood was. I sat in my seat and sighed, feeling pretty down in the dumps. And who decided to pop out of nowhere and cheer me up? The transfer student slash Planet of the Apes experiment himself. Exactly who I didn't need to see.

"Need something Zidane?"

Sigh.

"No, just wanted to know what was up. You're usually smiling and even of you're not, you never look this down. You look like someone shot your dog."

You better hope to god that if that happened, it wasn't you …

"It's not that, it's just … nothing. Never mind ..." I sighed. He decided to sit down in the seat in front of me (not to mention, he sat in the chair backwards).

"C'mon, Sora, you can tell me anything!"

What's this chimp—uh, I mean chump talking about?

"Don't give me that look! I'm a really good listener!"

"It's really not important. Don't worry about it; I'll cheer up, see?"

I gave him my best fake smile. It probably looked demented as all hell.*

"Yikes, dude."

"I know, shut up," I sighed with a slightly more genuine smile. It wasn't the happiest expression on my face but it sufficed enough for Zidane. He smiled as well.

"Well, whatever it is bugging you, it's gotta be pretty bad right?"

I hesitated before nodding slowly.

"Then it can only get better from here on out! Cheer up, okay? You'll get through whatever the problem is, I can guarantee it!" Zidane said in a chipper tone. I can happily say I've just been successfully shown up by monkey boy in the overly-happy department. Take _**that**_ society!

"So? Are you going to continue moping?" he asked. I can't get passed the fact that he's still talking to me.

"Yes, I'll stop moping! I swear!" I said with a much better fake smile.

Go away, dude!

"Perfect! See you at work!" he smiled as he jumped back to his own seat.

"Yeah, see ya!" Hanging from a tree by your neck.

Wow … I'm in a really bad mood today. Perfect. The world can fear my wrath.

I can now happily say I've spent my entire Algebra class imagining different ways the world could burn.

Oh, and I think Mom and Dad are working late, so I've got dinner duty.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

* Remember that cutscene in the first Kingdom Hearts when Sora tried to smile for Donald and Goofy in Traverse Town? Yeah, it was something like that.

A/N: I noticed I hadn't made note of the time in this story but the party was at the end of November and Naminé was almost two months when she found out and told Roxas. That's why it's January …

Anyway, there wasn't much to this chapter but it's still something. I guess it's like an intermission since there's going to be plenty of Kairi next chapter and you all know what that means … drama. Oh, and Rinoa's coming back, but don't worry, I'm not kicking Marly out. It'll probably be a longer chapter so it may take a while to get out but I promise there won't be another two month wait like there was for chapter … seven, I think?

Review or I shall steal your brains and sell them to science! LOL, no I won't … maybe.


	11. LOL it's Complicated

Chapter 11: LOL it's complicated

A/N: You know your life's complete when you see a picture of Yami from YuGiOh riding a robot Unicorn with rainbow hair …

Disclaimer: I swear on my purple Keyblade that I don't own Kingdom Hearts … yeah … I have a purple Keyblade … it's the Kingdom Key

Warnings: language and Sora being confused.

Reviews:

Versivalia- Yep … thanks for the review, btw!

Isabelz3Cookies- ikr … always nice to know you'll continue reviewing :D I'm alien repellent, btw …

Inarx- Aww, but it's no fun if I steal your brain when you're dead! LOL, thanks for the review!

OuiSexSi- 8GB is pretty good. It'll hold plenty of games. Anyway, thanks for the review! I'm glad it got you laughing, that's certainly one reason why I like writing humor!

**Edit (7/23/12): Major change made, you may want to re-read.**

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"_They're for you!"_

_I looked up only to see a bunch of flowers in my face. Behind them was Kairi's usual bright smiling face. My mind took a while to process the fact that she was holding a handmade bouquet of flowers out to me and by the time I did, she had already sat down next to me._

"_Something wrong, Sora?" she asked in her usual high, girlish voice. I was fine with it, though. It sounded nice with her._

"_Nothing. Just a little cold __and distracted …" I answered. It really was cold. I usually liked staying home where it was summer year round but __for Christmas, Mom just __**had**__ to take us to Grandma's. Grandma, of course, lived in a place where the snow was thick and the air was dry. __My lip__s had never gotten chapped like this before now. Not to mention, I got bored beyond reason every time I came over here. Thankfully, Kairi offered to come with us or I wouldn't have known what to do. Roxas is in middle school now and has no time for element__ary schoolers anymore and Vanille never had time to deal with me as I happen to be four years younger than her. Being nine sure is hard. Riku had his own grandparents to visit, Tidus was going on vacation, and Selphie and Wakka both had too many chores to __do so Kairi was my best bet. She didn't mind coming with me and my family though. She, surprisingly, doesn't care that Dad has terrifying road rage, Mom freaked out because she forgot to pack a lunch for Kairi and I ended up giving her mine, Roxas almost f__ell into a frozen lake, and Vanille was currently sporting pink hair for some strange reason. Her excuse was something like 'I can prove I'm not a dumb blonde! I'm going to be a dumb brunette instead!' I wish she'd listen to what comes out of her yapper fo__r once. Kairi was actually glad to have come with us. I assumed it was because she had just gotten her hair cut and wanted to show it off. Girls are like that, but hey I can't blame them. She does look pretty. It'll be weird, though, seeing her with her ha__ir barely reaching her chin rather than brushing past her shoulders._

"_Hello?"_

_My eyes drifted back to Kairi's own violet ones (as I realized I had been staring at her hair for a few minutes). She stared at me worriedly._

"_Are you okay? You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked._

"_No! I'm fine!" I reassured, "I just can't get used to your haircut; it's so different!"_

"_Well, is there a problem with it?" she huffed, causing me to smile mischievously._

"_Maybe if your face wasn't in the middle of it, it wouldn't look so weird!" I shouted before getting up and running. Kairi gasped, setting the flowers down before starting after me._

"_You take that back!" she screamed, although the smile on her face gave away the fake anger she displayed._

"_Never!" I yelled back._

_SLAM!_

"_Oh god, the world's all spinney …" I moaned. Kairi stood over me, the look of worry back on her face._

"_Sora? Are you alright?"_

"_Ugh … what just happened?" I asked._

"_You ran into a tree …"_

_I sat up only to realize that there was, in fact, a tree in front of me. I looked at Kairi again and her eyebrows furrowed._

"_Your nose is bleeding," she pointed out. I could feel it then. There was a definitely liquid running down my chin and pooling in my mouth. It tasted like metal. Disregarding the disgruntled look on Kairi's face, I turned my head and spat the blood out. She stood up straight, staring down at me in pity. I stood up and smiled at her, causing her to flinch._

"_No harm done," I added._

"_Sora, you just ran into a tree and now your nose is the bloody version of Niagara Falls and your teeth look like a war-zone," Kairi sighed. I smiled wider._

"_I know … awesome right?"_

_She only rolled her eyes._

"_Can we please just head inside so you can get fixed up?" she asked. I thought about it for a bit._

"_Only if you give me a kiss."_

_She cringed._

"_I sure hope you mean Hershey's …"_

"_Of course not! I want a real kiss!"_

"_Sora! We shouldn't even be thinking about kissing until at least high school! Besides, you've got blood dripping from your lip!"_

_I narrowed my eyes at her._

"_Are you too chicken?"_

_Kairi looked absolutely speechless but I saw this as opportunity. Screw waiting till we're older, I want this to happen now! Her surprised face slowly shifted into a glare as she hunched her shoulders and stiffened her back before leaning forward._

"_Oh my god! Sora!"_

_Moms … they ruin everything._

_There was suddenly a flash of pink as my mother ran over to inspect my face. Her eyebrows were scrunched together to the point where the crease in her forehead seemed eternally stuck there._

"_Why didn't you come to me immediately about this?" she squeaked._

_Cause I wanted my kiss from Kairi! Of course, I didn't say that out loud but boy did I want to._

"_I didn't want you doting over me," I said quietly with a roll of my eyes. Mom didn't seem too happy but let it slide, dragging both me and Kairi inside. Grandma was sitting at the table talking on the phone with someone and when she caught sight of me, her face was filled with immediate concern. Dad was sitting next to her and when he looked up, there wasn't much of a change in his expression but I knew he was just as worried. He stood and went to find the first aid kit that was somewhere in the downstairs bathroom. Grandma stood and started brushing my hair back to get a good look at my face before setting me down in a chair. Kairi kneeled on the floor beside and rested her arms and head on my lap. We both sighed at the same time._

"_I'm sorry," Kairi said, "I should've brought you straight back here."_

"_Nah, it's fine. I at least almost got my kiss, so I'm fine," I huffed. Kairi rolled her eyes and shook her head._

"_Maybe when we're older. Then it'll be more natural and hopefully, you won't have blood all over your face," she said._

"_Yeah," I mumbled, "I hope so …"_

My eyes shot open and I accidentally rolled out of bed and flat on my face, forcing a grunt of pain out of my throat. Groaning, I got up and looked at my clock. It read three-thirty … in the morning. Fuck. I sighed as I got up and shoved myself back into bed. Of course I couldn't go back to sleep, though. Not after that dream … that memory. I had almost forgotten about it, that day I ran into a tree then asked Kairi to kiss me. I wanted to tell myself that it was wrong that I still wanted her to fulfill that request when I already have a girlfriend but I couldn't help the longing I felt. I had been waiting years for that kiss that's likely not to ever come. Not that there was anything wrong with Garnet but _god she __**wasn't**__ Kairi_. I shook my head. I'm not an unfaithful person and I can't just break it off with Garnet over some stupid crush. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and not be disgusted. I've just got to get my shit together and quit being the pain in my own ass. Garnet doesn't deserve something like that. I should stop thinking so much about Kairi (though god knows, she won't stop dominating my thoughts). It's not like I'd have a chance with her anyway; she's always too busy glaring at me to even consider kissing me like she once had considered. _Sigh._ I miss those days …

-o-

Four-thirty.

I still can't get back to sleep. The very thoughts I wanted to get rid of continued to come back and haunt me at full force like I was living in the freaking Haunted Mansion. Sighing, I got out of bed again and made my way into the bathroom to take a shower. No one was up yet so, of course, no one noticed. I shuffled back into my room after I was finished to drag my clothes for today on. It was a long and somewhat tedious process as I couldn't find any matching pair of socks for some reason. It took about twenty minutes for me to realize that I wasn't even looking through my socks … I was searching through my underwear. About five seconds after that I realized that I was wearing my boxers on my head and my shirt was nowhere in sight. Then maybe five seconds after _that_, I finally realized that I'm, in fact, not dreaming and that it's almost five in the morning and I have no idea where most of my clothes are. I can already tell this is going to be a weird day. Sighing again, I turned my light on (though it burned) and put my clothes on the right way (after finally finding them again) before grabbing all of my school stuff and heading downstairs. No one was in the kitchen (due to it being 4:57 in the morning) so I took the liberty of turning the light on and finding myself something to eat. I wasn't really even that hungry, I just wanted something to get my mind off all this emotional crap. Deciding that I no longer cared, I stole the giant cookie I'd been saving for a few days since I didn't eat it when I first bought it. Don't judge me, you'd be stuffing your face with chocolate chunk cookie too if you had to go through this! Not to mention, this thing's almost as big as my face and can probably feed all of China. I stuffed it in my mouth anyway.

"You fat ass …"

I turned to see Roxas and Naminé standing in the doorway with looks of amusement on their faces. Both of them were still in pajamas and looked as if they just got out of bed.

"Good morning to you too," I replied casually. Roxas has weird ways of saying good morning. Yesterday, it was something like 'Sora, get your lazy ass out of bed! Breakfast is ready'. This morning I'm apparently 'fat ass'. Naminé shook her head at both of us before coming to sit beside me at the table.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, sounding as motherly as possible. Must be the baby.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered. She raised an eyebrow.

"Then do you normally shove chocolate chip cookies down your throat in the morning?" she asked.

"Of course he does," Roxas answered, "How else could he have gotten so fat?"

I stared down at my flat stomach blankly before turning the expression on my older brother.

"It's 'cause I take after you."

He furrowed his brow at the comeback with spurred Naminé into a fit of laughter. I allowed myself a smile too. Bet he didn't have anything to say to that!

"Yeah well I'm not the one stuffing my face with cookies!"

"Hey! It's one cookie! **One** cookie!"

"Yeah, one cookie the size of Las Vegas!"

"Is not, jerk face!"

"Is too, fatty!"

"Ass hat!"

"Moon butt!"

"… I don't like you anymore!"

Naminé had by then successfully head desk-ed into the table to (not so successfully) hide her laughter. I didn't find it that funny. My butt is **not** the size of the moon! It didn't help that Roxas started laughing as well. I threw a random napkin at his face.

"How could you both laugh at that? I'm not fat!" I shouted, stuffing more chocolate chunk cookie into my mouth.

"Stop stuffing cookie in your mouth and maybe I'll believe you," Roxas snorted before sitting down next to Naminé.

"Why are you up so early anyway?" he asked.

"Woke up at three-thirty and couldn't go back to sleep. You?"

"I heard someone moving around down here and came to make sure it wasn't a burglar or one of Vanille's stupid ex-boyfriends …"

I nodded in understanding. Vanille's stalker ex-boyfriends did tend to try and sneak in through the back door since they're all kind of stupid. Moonlight normally catches them but some nights they still manage to make it up the stairs. By then, though, Dad's barging out of his room with a shotgun spouting off something like 'Keep your hands off of my daughter or I'll personally send you to Hell' and all that jazz. And they still never give up.

"Thankfully, I'm neither or Dad would've chopped my head off and told Mom to cook it for dinner."

"True," Roxas agreed, "Any reason why you couldn't sleep?"

"Just … a lot of thinking," I sighed.

" … Is it about Kairi?"

What that hell? Is he psychic?

"It's the only answer that makes sense under the circumstances. You're fine in any other case ..." he added. I sighed for the millionth time.

"Yeah. I can't help it. It makes me feel horrible though ..."

"Why is that?" Naminé asked.

"Garnet ..." I said and they both made faces of understanding.

"Dump her," Roxas said and my eyes widened at that statement.

"What? No! I couldn't just dump someone like that!" I shouted.

"Why not? You like Kairi, right? If that's the case, it'd be even worse to pretend like you really like Garnet and let things progress even more. Things would get super complicated by then and you might even lose your chance with Kairi ..."

"Yeah, but have you forgotten that Kairi still doesn't like me? It wouldn't make any sense if I just dropped Garnet for a lost cause. Imagine how worthless that'd make her feel!"

"Sora," Roxas said, "Just trust me when I say this is going to work out for you. Garnet isn't just some random damsel in distress. She already knows your situation and would probably understand. She's probably waiting for the day you'll break it off since I can imagine it's not to fun to be dragged around by a guy who'd be better off with someone else. Even though she'd never admit it, even Selphie wants you to try again with Kairi! When you can devote most of your time to figuring out what this problem with Kairi and you is and you don't have to worry about dealing with another girl, I can guarantee things will get much easier! I'm not saying walk up to Garnet and spit in her face while screaming at her that you don't want her, I'm just saying that you should sit and talk with her about this. Trust me, she'll get it."

"And if things with Kairi don't get better?"

"They will."

"How do you know?"

"Sora, have I ever told you wrong? I may have screwed my own life up but I'll be damned if I let that happen to you. And besides, this can work for me. I'm having a baby with the girl I love, I don't have much to complain about. You, dear little brother, need help, though. If I knew this wouldn't work out, why would I tell you otherwise?"

I nodded. Roxas was right, I had to fix this. I still didn't feel comfortable with the whole Garnet situation but I knew Roxas was right. I should stop sending her the wrong messages. After everything that's been going on, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew I was still in love with Kairi. Oh god, this is so complicated.

"What's with all the yelling?"

We all looked up to see Mom and Dad making their way into the kitchen. I looked at the clock and noticed it was already five thirty, the time everyone's normally awake.

"Just helping Sora out with a problem he was having. He's fine now," Roxas answered.

"Mmm okay then. Sora, could you go wake up Vanille for me?" Mom asked and I nodded. Just as I got past the kitchen, I heard the hushed tones of my family start up.

"What was wrong?" Mom whispered. Roxas answered back, probably telling her about the entire situation. She stayed silent the entire time and I decided I didn't really want to know her answer. It would probably make me feel worse. I made my way up the stairs sluggishly, cursing the fact that there were so many of them before I made it to Vanille's room. Her door was shut but the light was on. I knocked on it and she answered with a short 'come in'. The moment I opened the door, I regretted it.

"... What are you doing?" I asked.

She was clad in a lab and goggles that I could've sworn were from Mr. Vexen's room.

"A science experiment. The kid down the street asked me to do this for him," she answered.

"What experiment? And why does it smell like feet in here?"

"Duh! The experiment involves shoes."

…

"Wh—?"

"Oh hush! Nothing is going to happen!" she shouted, spotting the skepticism on my face. Though just as she said that, the shoe caught fire.

"... God strike me down the next time I decide to come into this room," I mumbled as Vanille freaked out. I would've let her deal with it, but then the house might burn down. I didn't even know what she did to start the fire but my guess is that she has no idea what chemicals she's using. God knows how she was even allowed near any type of chemicals. Everyone in this town should know not to give Vanille dangerous objects. She shot a pen at a student once and it ended up imbedded in the chalkboard, right where her teachers head would've been if he hadn't ducked. In this particular situation … I could possibly die.

Pray for me.

-fifteen minutes later-

"I think I'm missing my eyebrows ..."

"No, they're just slightly singed ..."

"... Vanille?"

"Yep?"

"You suck."

She only smiled and continued out the back door. I followed, sighing, as I automatically went for the silver car in the driveway. Since Riku offered to drive today, I took full advantage of the situation. Though, of course, so did Rikku, Roxas, Naminé, and Tidus. I'm not entirely sure how that worked out; all I know is that I somehow ended up under Rikku's seat. She said that I had to so no one could see that I had no seat belt on but the fact that my hands and forearms were serving as a holder for her book bag told me otherwise. And it was pretty awkward trying to get out as I had to back up to get into the back seats so for a good ten minutes, my ass was sticking out in the air for the world to stare at. And everyone found it funny too!

Shaking my head at that embarrassing moment, we all made our way into the school building. It was, as usual, a nice, bright sunny day outside that no one wanted to enjoy in favor of the air conditioning inside. Only a few people were milling around outside the building but inside, the lobby and hallways were bustling with activity. Everyone immediately waved to each other and went to find their classes. I was on my way to History when I suddenly ran straight into someone. There was a loud squeak and the sound of books falling and I looked down to see a somewhat short girl with jet black hair falling just past her ears and only slightly hiding a blue bandana. The rest of her was clad in tan mini shorts, a blue tank top, and tan converse that reached her knees. And she was, as expected, surrounded by a circle of books. She lifted her head to reveal light brown eyes lit in anger directed straight at me. The look had me frozen for a moment.

"Well what are you doing standing there, space face? Get down here and help me!" she shouted, snapping me out of it. I crouched down to help her pick up all her books before she snatched them out of my hands and stuffed them in her locker (aside from one binder and a textbook). I stared at her for a moment, realizing that she was completely unfamiliar (and I happened to know everyone in this school).

"What?" she snapped.

"I feel like you're new here," I said as I stroked my chin.

"That's 'cause I am. I'm a freshman and I just moved here ..."

…

…

Sweet.

"Awesome! You are now my freshie! I own you!" I smiled as I patted her head. I probably sounded like a creeper, but whatever; I've always wanted a freshie.

She waved my hand away with a grumble.

"Fine I'll be your freshie but I'm not carrying your shit for you. I'm Yuffie Kisaragi by the way."

She held out her hand and I shook it.

"Sora Strife. You know, it's weird. There's a kid in a few of my classes who's new here too."

"Let me guess," she said as we started walking to class again, "Short, blonde hair, annoying, and a ladies' man?"

"... You know him?"

"Zidane's my step-brother. We both moved here a little while ago. I'm guessing you work with him too?"

I nodded.

"How'd you know? Did he say anything?"

"Well he never said your name but I guessed it might've been you when I saw you. He keeps talking about his co-worker with the weird spiky hair and the hot babe of a girlfriend. It gets irritating after a while," she grumbled.

"I can imagine," I sighed just as I reached my classroom.

"Anyway, I've gotta get to class so I'll see you later Sora!" she yelled as she waved and ran down the hallway. I waved back and opened the classroom door. As usual, the teacher glared at me (though he glares at everyone), the class was loud and unruly, and Zidane was flirting with my girlfriend. I was slightly angry at myself that it didn't really bother me at all. And, not-so-usually, there was Kairi sitting in the back with her head on the desk and her friends trying to figure out what was wrong. I, unfortunately, sat right in front of her so when I got to my seat, the black aura she was (figuratively) emitting gave me the chills. I sat down anyway because the teacher was still glaring at me and that, at the moment, was even scarier. I decided to try my luck just as the morning announcements started and turned in my seat only to find her staring straight at me. But for once it wasn't a glare … it was an apology.

"Kairi …?"

She sat up at the sound of my voice and placed her hands on her desk, displaying her twiddling thumbs. There was a small moment of awkward silence that I was about to break when she finally spoke.

"... I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apolog—"

"No listen! … I do have a reason for the way I've treated you but I … I can't tell you. Not yet. I will when I'm ready, Sora, I promise. You already know I don't hate you. I couldn't possibly hate you, but things are just complicated and I couldn't bring myself to keep getting involved with you. I wanna start over, Sora, I really do! But it's hard for me to push what happened aside."

I could swear my heart stopped when she said that. There _was_ a reason she pushed me away. But what is it?

"Kairi? What—?"

I was cut off by my teacher's angry shout of 'quiet in the back you're getting detention'. I shut up and turned forward but I couldn't pay attention to the lesson. I was too preoccupied. What could've happened?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"I'm back my lovely minions—I mean children!"

And indeed she is. There stood Ms. Rinoa Heartilly, now Mrs. Rinoa Leonhart in all her sweater clad glory. Next to her was Marluxia who was too preoccupied with the state of his clothes to say anything. Everyone in the room was speechless as Ms. Heartilly—well Mrs. Leonhart said she wouldn't be back until a month from now and yet here she is. And for some reason, the director was still here too.

"What?" Mrs. Leonhart asked, "You're not all happy to see me? Fine, I can go back—"

She was interrupted when half the class (the majority of them being girls) screamed 'no' and tackle hugged our poor teacher. I hadn't seen something like that since elementary school so it was pretty entertaining to watch.

"Well I wasn't expecting that ..." she said as everyone detached themselves from her and found their seats.

"Why not? Your class loves you. You're the only fun teacher in this school," Marluxia answered. Just as he said that, some girl raised her hand.

"Um, why is the director still here?" she asked. Marluxia made a face at her.

"Because I can be," he snapped. Mrs. Leonhart shook his head at him.

"I didn't want Marly to be out of a job so I asked if he would be my assistant," she said. Everyone nodded in understanding before she started off the class.

"So, I hope you guys have been practicing because dress rehearsals are coming up pretty darn soon!" Mrs. Leonhart exclaimed. Everyone groaned.

"The outfits in the Elizabethan era were so horrible though!" one girl said.

"At least you don't have to wear tights that squish your crotch!" another guy yelled in annoyance. Personally, I didn't care. It's all part of acting so I might as well get over it. Thankfully, the mature people sitting near me all agreed. And so did Mrs. Leonhart.

"Complaints, complaints, complaints! Get over it!" she sighed, "Now … who's ready to try on some corsets?"

Another collective groan.

And within twenty minutes, everyone's measurements were recorded and their specific costumes were being chosen. Petruchio's was … eccentric I guess, but there wasn't too much of a problem with it. Sort of. Ah, well, I can get over it. Of course, Katherine had to have her dress ready as well. Kairi looked somewhat out of sorts with her costume (and I can imagine why with how low it dips) but decided to grin and bear it. Some were actually excited about their costumes and took them with glee. Of course, they'd have to be fitted so it wasn't set in stone whether they'd wear those exact costumes or not, but they seemed to not care. Garnet had a somewhat disdained look on her face when she took her Bianca (yeah, Olette gave up the role to Garnet because she didn't want it anymore) costume. Mrs. Leonhart seemed to find everyone's reactions funny. The director … just didn't care.

"Alright, back to your seats everyone!" Mrs. Leonhart shouted and everyone went swarming back to their seats, each person with a varying look of either irritation or happiness on their face. Our loving teacher didn't care though. She only snapped her fingers and told us to get back to work. I sighed and turned to Kairi. She was still staring at her costume with a displeased look on her face.

"… Kairi grumpy huh?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes. I guessed that was my answer since she said nothing.

"Ready to practice?" I asked, being serious again.

"Do we really need to?" she grumbled.

"Yeah okay, I know we already have this play memorized perfectly but we should at least look like we're doing something important," I said.

"Meh. How about you look like you're doing something important and I'll sleep," Kairi answered. I stared at her.

"Oh my god, who the hell are you and what did you do with Kairi?"

"Shut up Sora!"

"Hey! You have to admit that sounded like something I would say!"

She scoffed.

"That's because you're a derp."

…

"… That was low."

She only smirked at me.

"Yeah, but it also means I won."

"At what?"

"At life."

"Oh my god it's a miracle! Sora and Kairi are bantering like an old married couple and no punches have been thrown! Is this the apocalypse or something?"

We both looked up to see Mrs. Leonhart staring right at us with watering eyes. In fact, the entire class was staring at us. I laughed in embarrassment and scratched at the back of my head while Kairi tried to hide her reddening face. Mrs. Leonhart's expression changed into a small grin as she shook her head at us.

"Anyway, as enjoyable as that little scene was, you two should go over the play just to make sure you have everything down," she said before heading over to help someone else. Kairi and I stared at each other for a moment before shrugging and grabbing our scripts.

"By the way, Sora, I heard Naminé is pregnant …" she said a little more quietly.

"Who hasn't?" I sighed. Poor Naminé never gets a break from all the people bombarding her with comments about her pregnancy and the baby.

"Tell her congratulations for me, 'kay?" Kairi asked. I stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Sure thing …"

Kairi cleared her throat before picking up the script again.

"Great, now let's get started."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. It's been a while since Kairi's been so upbeat about … anything.

"Yes, let's. Ladies first, by the way …" I said. Kairi stuck her tongue out at me.

"Where do you want to start?" she asked.

"At the part where you're **not** hitting me."

"Aww, that's my favorite part …"

"Kairi!"

She only laughed at me. Darn redhead.

Too bad I like redheads though …

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: I have a freshie. She does my bidding. My friend, on the other hand, has fourteen freshmen. She's building an army of them, in fact, and threatened to sick them on me if I don't help her beat Kingdom Hearts 2. So if I die, you all know why and, if you care enough, you could possibly avenge me. XD Unless you hated me for this chapter. For some reason, I feel like people are going to hate me because of that Garnet and Sora situation. It _is_ kind of heartless … Ah well, it's also necessary if we want any Sokai in this story. And, unfortunately, there wasn't nearly as much Kairi as I wanted in this chapter but I promise the next chapter will make up for it … somewhat.

Review.


	12. Pay Day

Chapter 12: Pay Day

A/N: Listening to Hatsune Miku's song Francium while drinking Coca-Cola … not a good idea … _Anywho!_ My birthday is today so as a gift to all of you, I'm updating … because I happen to make sense like that. Enjoy. (This is thanks to the two reviewers who so kindly asked me to update this story after I'd finally gotten the next chapter to my **other** story out o.O)

Warnings: language, sugar, Sora and Yuffie being weird, lady with a baby, etc.

DiZclaimer: See what I did there? :D … :/ Nah, everybody uses that. I own naught but the plot.

Reviews:

Inarx- Yay, it's nice to know that someone won't kill me for the while Garnet situation! Thanks for the review!

KayleighC- d'aawww that made my day … Thanks for reviewing!

kingdomheartsoverload a.k.a. il- thank you! Here's the next chapter.

keyblademasta12- Is it? I never actually read that series so I don't really know. I just came up with Whitman off the top of my head.

Formerly-Known-As-Devil- Here 'Tis

C.- You'll find out this chapter actually :D Heheheh

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Bleergh! Oh god …"

Ah, the sound of morning sickness. 'Twas the sound I woke up to this morning.

…

It was terrifying.

"Oh my god, Naminé! Did you just barf your intestine out? It looks like you just barfed your intestine out!" I shouted as I stood in the doorway of the upstairs bathroom, towel in one hand and stuffed monkey in the other. It was the perfect squeeze toy for Naminé and occasionally me. Naminé's only answer to my freaking out was a wordless groan that halfway echoed into the toilet. About five seconds later, Roxas walked into the room with a glass of water and sank down beside her to hold her hair back. I handed him the towel and went back to the doorway. God knows how he could be so calm about this. It's their baby and I'm the one freaking out!

"She'll be fine, Sora, just go back to bed," Roxas said quietly as Naminé continued puking. I shuddered a bit at the sound before nodding and going back to my room.

That was a wonderful way to start the weekend.

I had just gotten back to my room when I realized I still had the stuffed monkey. I would've gone back to give it to Nami but at the sound of her endless vomiting, I couldn't pry my fingers from it. And I definitely couldn't go back to sleep now … I'd have nightmares for sure. I sighed and slipped some clothes on, deciding that Moonlight needed a walk. She seemed to expect this as the moment I got down the stairs, there she was waiting like the creeper she is. I shivered slightly before grabbing her leash. I could practically feel her glare before I saw it. If she could talk, she'd probably tell me that she's planning to kill me in my sleep if I attached the thing to her neck. But I couldn't have the authorities on my ass over letting her roam around leash-free so it was a necessary evil. And I managed to get the leash on Moonlight … after getting bitten five times. A common occurrence that people don't bother asking me about anymore. I never stopped grumbling to myself afterward though. I would've said Moonlight's problem was never getting neutered but …

… she's a girl …

… so that's not the problem.

Whatever the case was, her attitude with me wasn't making the walk anymore pleasant. I was tempted to go back home but then I remembered Naminé was still being sick and I didn't want to end up barfing myself when I hear it.

And when I barf, I start crying.

It's … it's not pretty …

Seeing as I was trying to avoid that at all costs (as it would ruin my **very manly** image) I took the walk over the … sick.

Yeah … we'll call it that.

But, unfortunately, my Saturday was already becoming uneventful to the extreme. Sure I could waltz around the neighborhood like there aren't people willing to throw rocks at my head (mostly due to the whole … drunken streaking across the neighborhood thing …) for as long as I wanted but life didn't get any more interesting past that. And I didn't exactly _want_ anyone throwing rocks at my head … The park was probably my best bet. Not to mention, I'd probably find Serah there since she always liked taking Hope for a walk. And she was always nice to talk every once in a while (at least when she wasn't threatening to sick her psycho sister on me if I got on her nerves). Sadly, when I got there, the place was barren. Not a soul was present save for one _way_ in the distance that I paid no attention to. I walked over to the bench and sat, Moonlight following behind me and standing next to me. At least I could always count on her to be my best friend.

… And then she ran off. And I found myself staring wide-eyed at the detached leash in my hand as my dog probably wandered back home to people who weren't dragging her around on a choke belt.

… I felt so abandoned.

…

Meh. She'll be back when she realizes both doors are locked.

-**thirty minutes later**-

Son of a bitch …

Why am I still here?

I sighed and hunched over to rest my cheek on my right hand, the general position one would sit in to demonstrate boredom. Why'd I ever expect that stuck up demon to come back? We have a doggie door. I'm such a dumbass. And now I'm hungry and have no money with me. Fuck my sad life sideways … Fuck.

"What are you grumbling about?"

My eyes slid upward and were surprised to find Yuffie's curious expression gracing them. Deciding that she would be my new source of entertainment, I donned my best creeper smile and stood to pat the short girl's head.

"Hi Freshie …"

She smacked at my hand (well, more like flailed at it) before sticking her tongue out at me.

"You didn't answer my question," she stated, ignoring the—_possibly stupid_—look on my face. I relaxed it into a neutral expression, seeing as she wasn't very creeped out by the smile, before sitting back down. She sat down next to me and waited patiently for my answer.

"My dog abandoned me."

"… So?"

"… You heartless wench."

Yuffie only smirked.

"If it were that serious, I doubt you'd be sitting calmly on a park bench looking like you'd rather be working."

"I honestly would," I grumbled, "My weekend started off with my soon-to-be sister-in-law puking her guts up with morning sickness and then slowly went downhill from there."

"Morning sickness?"

"She's pregnant with my brother's demon spawn."

"That sounds wonderful."

"I know, doesn't it?"

Yuffie only chuckled slightly before standing up again. She stretched for a moment before turning to face me fully.

"Wanna be a ninja with me?"

I eyed her warily.

"You're not coming onto me are you?"

She laughed again, louder this time.

"After it's so obvious that you wanna screw that Kairi girl? Hell no! I simply asked if you wanna be a ninja with me," she grinned. Rolling my eyes, I stood again.

"Why the hell not? I've got nothing better to do," I mumbled. Yuffie huffed in mock anger.

"You aren't excited enough! Do I have to feed you sugar or something?"

"Please don't."

Me _plus_ Sugar _equals_ Run.

"Why not? What's the worst that could happen?"

"I might kidnap you."

"Hey, if you accomplished that, you'd earn the title of ninja straight up."

I smiled. Who needed sugar anyway? Her never ending eagerness was fueling my empty happy gauge. I suddenly felt the need to do something crazy.

"Rainbow Ninja?"

"Yeah?" Of course she answered to that …

"Let's tepee the mayor's house."

"And if we get caught?"

"Please! We're ninja's! How would we get caught?"

Surprisingly enough …

We never got caught.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Rainbow Ninja …?"

"Sky God?"

"… There's a rumbly in my tumbly …"

" … Feh."

At this point, I had latched onto her head in an attempt to suck the life out of her brain. It wasn't working.

"Get off me, caveman face! Your teeth hurt!"

"Feed me!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"God, why'd I give you those pixie stix?"

"It was one …"

"No, it was six! I should've listened to your warning earlier. A hyper Sora is a frightening Sora."

"I'm still hungry."

"I know! That's why I'm dragging you to my house!"

"Is there food?"

"Yes."

"Your brain isn't very filling."

"Your fat isn't very pleasant."

"I'm not fat …"

"I know. I'm still going call you a fat ass though. You're too heavy, quit leaning on me!"

And that was how we'd started on our epic adventure to Yuffie's house where I'd calmed down and eaten whatever it was her mom gave me. And who'd have freaking guessed. Her mom was my freaking former kindergarten teacher! After she'd gotten over the shock of seeing the horrifying sight that is hyper me, she'd sat me down at their table, gave me food, and told me to tell my dad she said hi. Rainbow Ninja was busy on her laptop as I looked around and wondered to myself how I got here again. I was sure in the future I would look back at this moment and laugh, but at the moment I slightly peeved at the fact that I was sitting in an unfamiliar dining room with my freshman in her own little realm and my old kindergarten teacher staring at me with those hawk-like brown eyes that tended to scare just about anyone. You never wanted to get a time out from Tifa Lockhart … ever. Though now that my brain had cleared a bit from the saddening episode of that sugar haze that I shall never bring up again, I was kind of curious. The fact that Yuffie was new here was kind of weird, considering I knew her mother. But then again, Mrs. Lockhart did kind of disappear after I started first grade. And how come Yuffie's last name was Kisaragi if Mrs. Lockhart is her mom? Being the smart one that I am, I outright asked for an explanation. Yuffie looked up from her laptop with a surprised look on her face (she probably wasn't expecting me to calm down that quickly) before explaining.

"I've got my dad's last name. He's dead now, though, that's why Mom re-married. It's also why you didn't know me. I wasn't in school yet by the time we moved and then the only reason we moved back recently was because my step-dad needed to be re-located. Mom wasn't happy about it, but it needed to happen. I'm glad I'm here though. Everyone's so much more laid back than the pricks back home."

…

That explains a lot.

"Honestly," Mrs. Lockhart started, "I'm a little glad we moved back here as well. Yuffie didn't have too many friends until we moved back here. In fact, Sora, I'm not surprised you ended up being friends with Yuffie. You could be friends with anyone."

I guess she did remember me. That was actually … kind of flattering. Most people either knew me since forever or met me once and forgot I existed.

"Gee thanks Mom," Yuffie said with a slight grimace.

"Eh," I added, "I couldn't help it. She's the first step to the completion of the freshman army I'm trying to build. Would you like to be the General, Rainbow Ninja?"

"Indeed I would, Sky God. That's General Rainbow Ninja from now on."

"Nah, you're still gonna be Rainbow Ninja to me."

Yuffie stared at me with a look of horror on her face, causing Ms. Lockhart to laugh quietly at the both of us before walking out of the room to do … whatever.

"Hey, Yuffie. Is your mom still a teacher?"

"Uh-huh. When the elementary school heard she came back, they welcomed her back on the staff with open arms. She was their best teacher, especially when it came to the advanced kids."

Don't I know it.

"Good to hear …" I said before finishing my sandwich (as I finally figured out what I was eating).

"By the way, assuming that we are friends—"

"We are," I said, completely serious.

"Right then; we are friends. Why'd you choose me to be friends with?" Yuffie asked, equally as serious. I pretended to think about it and chewed my sandwich slowly with a thoughtful look on my face. Yuffie could see through me and broke off a piece of the bread to throw at me.

"Okay, okay! I guess it kind of started from you being my freshie. And then I got to know you and realized you were a completely rotten apple—"

I was interrupted by another piece of my own sandwich being thrown at my face, causing me to laugh at her defensiveness.

"I guess it was the fact that I was meeting someone as crazy as I am—who isn't Riku—and I decided that this very new and interesting person should be my friend and be graced with my awesome presence."

This time Yuffie decided it was necessary to stand up and bombard me with her fists. It didn't really hurt (on the outside at least) but it told me I needed to be serious here since she was looking for a serious answer.

"I'll be serious this time, I swear it! Lay off!"

The onslaught halted for a moment before continuing mercilessly.

"You … are … such … a … derp!" She squeaked in the way only Yuffie could possibly achieve as each word was punctuated with a swing of her fists.

"Quit throwing your man-hands at me! And I am not a derp! Why does everyone keep calling me that?" I shouted.

"I do not have man-hands!" Yuffie gasped, "And if so many people have called you a derp then maybe that's because it's true!"

I pouted at her.

"You're mean, Rainbow Ninja. I'm not gonna let you be my commander anymore …"

"I thought I was the General …"

Was she?

"Huh … Anyway, you are my friend and that's that! No questions asked. Now let's go outside and be weird."

"Okay."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

After running around and being weird with Yuffie, I decided it was time to head home, find Moonlight, and give her the walk she deserves … hopefully sans the leash and bite marks. The walk home was relatively normal: Tidus waves hi to me as I walk past his house, Riku throws a Paopu fruit at my head from his second floor window as I walk past his house while telling me to share it with Kairi already (causing steam to billow out of my ears), I walk past my own house before realizing that I had indeed walked past my own house before backtracking and actually entering said house to find Vanille and Naminé talking about girl stuff while Roxas stared at Naminé like a creeper as my parents hung around in the kitchen, Dad reading his newspaper since he had nothing productive to do at the moment and Mom talking to someone on the phone.

… Yep. Normal.

Moonlight tottered up to me with and apologetic look on her evil face but I forgave her anyway. The puppy eyes were seriously working their charm on me. And what could I do? If your dog stared at you like that, would you still be angry for being abandoned? Probably yes, but I couldn't let it get to me. Instead, I kneeled down and gave her a hug, hoping to myself that she wasn't being a total Georgette and snickering behind my back. She's evil like that.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to take Moonlight for another walk. Hopefully she won't run away again!" I shouted to my parents before heading out the door with demon dog following after me. Both of my parents waved me away without a care in the world. Shrugging, I closed the door behind me before heading down the street exactly the way I came. This time, there were no obnoxious greetings from any of my friends but there was Kairi's house that I normally passed by as well. I pulled out the Paopu fruit that Riku had thrown at me and thought about what he said. Would I want to share a Paopu fruit with Kairi? Well, that question could be easily answered. Forever with Kairi? I'm in. The real question is … would she want to share the Paopu with me? Would Kairi be interested in having our destinies intertwined? If you had asked me years ago, I could have said yes. She'd even admitted it herself. Now, though? Well, it's clear she doesn't hate me, but does she still feel the same for me as I do for her? I sighed and turned my eyes back to her house only to see the girl herself exiting it.

"… Kairi?"

She jumped and turned around only to calm down when she realized it was me. She stared at me for a moment with a questioning look on her face before her eyes shot down to the Paopu fruit still clenched in my hand.

"Sora … you do realize what this looks like, right?" she asked. Now that I think about it …

"I promise you I am not turning into a creepy stalker," I laughed nervously before stuffing the fruit back into my pocket, "I was just giving Moonlight a walk …"

The little demon was nowhere to be found. I turned to look at Kairi hopelessly as she stared at me with skepticism clearly displayed on her face.

"Mhmm …"

"Well she was here …" I mumbled before deciding it was best to drop the subject, "So where are you headed anyway?"

"Um, Elise asked me for a favor so I was heading over to the restaurant ..." she said.

"Mind if I go with you?"

She shook her head before walking over to me so that we could walk side by side.

… I couldn't describe to you how happy I was at this moment.

"Sora …? Can you … not smile like that please? It's kinda creepy …"

Needless to say … I only smiled wider. Kairi only stared at me warily and I decided I would just take the chance. I pulled the Paopu fruit out of my pocket and broke a piece of it off before handing it to Kairi. She stared at it for a moment before taking it. And then she started laughing. And I finally realized how ridiculous this looked. Here we are, walking down the side walk, I'm covered in pixie stick powder and Kairi's wearing black clothes (for the first time I've ever seen) and I'm handing her a Paopu fruit also covered in pixie stick powder and pocket lint with a smile on my face large enough to make my cheeks hurt. At this moment, we certainly looked hopeless. And at this moment, I couldn't have been more in love with the girl standing before me.

"You really are unbelievable," she mumbled before stuffing the piece of Paopu fruit in her own pocket. Today had to have been 'Sora took a chance and grew some balls' day, because I couldn't even believe myself when I grabbed her hand. So, of course, I chickened out and started to apologize. But Kairi stopped me before I could by grabbing my hand back. The smile reappeared.

"Okay, Sora, I can't take you seriously when you smile like that."

Sigh.

"Fine …"

I relaxed my face but I couldn't deny the happiness swelling up inside me. Even if I couldn't get Kairi to like me again, I'd be perfectly satisfied with what's happening now. Just being able to hold her hand was fine with me.

Hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, we continued on to Emory's restaurant. Elise must've given Kairi a key because she walked ahead of me to unlock the front doors. She opened them and got one step in before stilling completely.

"... Kairi?" I asked her as I walked up to the doors. Just as I looked up there was a hand covering my eyes.

"Wha—"

"Um, Sora, maybe you don't want to see this ..." Kairi said, cutting me off.

"See what?" I asked as I peeled her hand off. I got one look at the seen before me before putting Kairi's hand right back in its place over my eyelids. Though, the image of Zidane and Garnet attached at the lips was currently burned into my brain. There was the sound of shuffling before Zidane spoke.

"Uh, hey guys. I guess Elise asked you for a favor as well, huh?"

Yeah …

Saturday just got a lot more interesting.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: -sound of explosion- That was quite the bomb to drop wasn't it? Now review my pretties!

(Did you catch the Oliver and Company reference?)


	13. Is a Shrew Still Small?

Chapter 13: Is a Shrew Still Small if it Gets Fat?

A/N: Lo siento! Joesong haeyo! Gomen nasai! Je suis désolé! Îmi pare rău! Atsiprašau! E's cunno! I can say sorry in as many different languages as I want and it still won't convey how sorry I am for taking so freaking long to update! If you knew me in person, you'd definitely believe that I lost my flash drive. Because yeah … I did. But, I found it a few days ago hiding in my sock drawer. I also found my Gameboy Advanced collecting dust under my book shelf. It's a million years old and it still works like new … This past week has been a week of discovery indeed! These past two months on the other hand …

First off … the sweep. Do not fear, good sirs and ladies, this story is safe. I never had a lemon planned and never will let anything in this fic out of the 'suggestive' safety zone. That was never meant to be, whether this site was sweeping or not. It's only rated M for the few and far between 'suggestive' moments and the copious amounts of language.

Anyway, enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: (smashes face into wall)

Warnings: Language, penguins … okay I lied, there aren't any penguins.

Reviews:

Formerly- Known-As-Devil- Here 'tis.

C. - (pulls you out of bomb shelter) No worries, it's over now :)

sora93kairi- Thanks for the review! I hope your tooth gets better :3

OuiSexSi- Indeed, the dreaded cliffhanger hath returned. Yeah, it was the most favorable way to get rid of Garnet (in my opinion) without dragging the situation out too much. I'm glad you enjoyed the Yuffie-ness. I had to add her spazziness in here somewhere. Unfortunately, Kairi won't eat the Paopu fruit. This isn't a spoiler, but I'm sure she doesn't want to eat a fruit covered in powder and pocket lint. The fact that she took it at all is a good sign.

Nightwatcher55- Well I would lose my beloved reviewers if it wasn't interesting ;3

Bittersweet41- After months of me not updating, you suddenly come up with the most epic review I've had so far. That would be lovely and I suddenly want to make it happen. Sadly, though, it's an idea that has absolutely nothing to do with the story line. I'd have to include it in an extra chapter at the end of the story or something and since Sora knows all of the freshmen at his school, he couldn't really build an army of freshmen at his own school. No worries, though, Yuffie shall always be Rainbow Ninja.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Seriously! I just wanted to know!"

Mrs. Leonhart continued laughing at me.

"Wh—what k-kind of question is that?"

She's still laughing at me.

"Well it couldn't be small if it got fat!" I reasoned. She seemed to find that even funnier and sputtered before laughing again. Kairi rolled her eyes at us both. We were currently making costumes for Elise and Mrs. Leonhart had agreed to help us after school. And, funny enough, she had invited us to her house as if it was nothing. It was slightly awkward at first until I remembered that she's Naminé's cousin and that she wasn't a creepy stalker. Plus, she had lots of cloth and sewing materials so that was a plus as my mother couldn't have helped much. I kept myself occupied by asking her and her husband random questions, which usually got them laughing (somewhat) and Kairi face-palming. We couldn't have done much else to occupy ourselves. Mrs. Leonhart didn't like television, both her and her husband found music to be a distraction while working (which would explain why she's so gung-ho about having iPods playing in class), and silence could only keep us sane for so long … So I decided to be random. And I knew a shrew couldn't really get fat unless something disturbed its eating cycle, but I felt the question could keep us entertained and keep my mind off other things. Like yesterday.

-o-o-o-o-

"_So … before we start, would anyone like to tell me what's going on?" Elise asked. Everyone stared at each other nervously. Elise was sure to be angry when she finally hears about what was going on for the past few months. Especially since we didn't ask for her help when the trouble first started. She crossed her arms, waiting silently for someone to answer. Minutes passed before finally Garnet bit the bullet and decided to tell her._

"_."_

_Well … sorta told her. Elise only stared at Garnet with a confused look on her face. But apparently, the fact that Garnet said that all so quickly wasn't what had confused Elise._

"_... What does that matter? Isn't he dating Kairi?"_

_I could feel my left eye twitching._

"_No, he wasn't before … Now though …" Garnet looked at the two of us questioningly. I raised an eyebrow as Kairi shook her head._

"_No, we aren't. We are friends again, though. I guess I got tired of living in the past. I just want to start over now," Kairi said. For that, I had but one thought._

_Mind. Equals. Blown._

_I couldn't process much else. The entire situation went from extremely complicated to infuriatingly simple. Infuriating because … I just caught my girlfriend cheating on me … and I couldn't be happier. That's a good reason to call me disturbed. But Kairi wanted to start over with me; that's all that really mattered. I was simply saved the complication of breaking it off with Garnet. Thank you, monkey-boy. You've just made my life slightly easier. _

-o-o-o-o-

"Sora!"

I jumped a little as Kairi's voice filled my ears.

"You're sitting on my sleeve," she said. I narrowed my eyes a bit. She wasn't wearing sleeves …

Kairi rolled her eyes yet again before pointing to the general area around my butt. I looked down to see that I was indeed sitting on a sleeve. Huh … wonder how that happened. I lifted myself off of the ground slightly, just enough for Kairi to grab the sleeve before settling back against the couch with my hands behind my head. In truth, I was helping Kairi and Mrs. Heartilly out as they sewed the costumes. I'd be useless otherwise. And this would all be thanks to my weirdo of a brother telling me when I was younger that sewing was girly and that I should do manly things with him like baseball, or soccer, or … skateboarding. He's such a weirdo.

Meanwhile, outside of Sora's brain …

"… What?"

Oh, did I say that out loud?

"Nothing. What play do you think Emory and Elise are showing this time?" I asked, having only just wondered about it now.

"God knows. It's most likely something for kids … and from the look of this material, it's probably another 'Princess yearning for her Prince Charming' … mushy type of play," Kairi snorted, wrinkling her nose at the fabric a bit. Is it wrong that as unattractive as that may have seemed, I still found it to be extremely cute?

"Huh …" I replied, wondering discreetly if she would be my princess again. Mrs. Leonhart smirked at me as if she knew exactly what I was thinking before turning back to her work. Kairi, on the other hand, stared at me questioningly. I shook my head at her and she too went back to her work.

" … So, tell me … what wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Mrs. Leonhart threw a ruler at me in response.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

After a few hours of sewing and random questions, the costumes were finished and at least looked somewhat like the drawings Elise had given us. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting. Sort of.

"So, you and Kairi are finally together?" Mrs. Leonhart asked.

Kairi spat out her diet Coke before coughing. I couldn't even contain the blush that had formed on my cheeks.

"… Should I take that as a yes?"

"No!" we yelled in unison. As much as I wanted it to be true, I shouldn't let people have the wrong idea. If I did, Kairi might kill me.

"Really? What's holding you back?"

"I don't even know if I would be ready to date again, Mrs. Leonhart …" Kairi mumbled, not facing either of us. Right … Tidus.

"You can both call me Rinoa when we're not in school. But honestly, Kairi, you should at least try. Not many girls want to be on the dating scene after a recent break up but then again, I doubt that would really be your problem. If you feel strongly about something, you should go for it," Mrs. Le—I mean, Rinoa said, looking at us both pointedly. Kairi didn't reply but I could tell she was thinking. I could only wonder what about …

But I did notice one thing …

Kairi never said that she didn't want to date me when Rinoa asked what was holding us back.

"Ugh. Honestly, Rinoa, I don't want to think about guys at the moment. And, I like the type of relationship I have with Sora right now. This is enough for me," Kairi sighed, smiling a bit.

"I guess I can accept that as an answer—for now—but I do wonder … Why did you choose _now_ to be friends with Sora?" Rinoa asked. I looked to Kairi. Yes, do explain that one …

"I guess … I decided to get over what I was going through and just let things go back to the way they used to be. Don't get me wrong, it stills hurts, but I can't keep everything bottled up just to take it out on other people," she answered and I have to say my head in tilted with the confusion I felt. What exactly still hurt …? Rinoa seemed to agree as she raised an eyebrow at Kairi. But before she could make a comment, Kairi immediately changed the subject.

"So how was your honeymoon exactly?" she asked. And the gushing commenced.

"Oh it was lovely! Let me tell you, as tiring as the travelling was, it was worth it! Oh, you should've seen the beaches, they were beautiful! And the food and service was extravagant blah blah blah blah blah—…"

Let me rephrase that. And the gushing that I managed to tune out for the rest of the day commenced.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hey Sora can you help me with th— … is that the triforce on your forehead?"

"Umm … maybe?"

Kairi stared at me for a moment before shaking her head.

"Anyway, I was asking if you could help me with this math problem …"

"Bleh, math."

"Really Sora?" she sighed, rolling her eyes at me, "You may be a lazy bum but you're not stupid. Well, in most cases you're not. I'm just asking for help with one problem."

"… Ouch Kairi. Most cases?"

"Yes, Sora, most cases."

"Excuse me? I have **this**," I pointed to the three triangles on my forehead, "for a reason! One can't have the power of the triforce without an equal balance of courage, power, and wisdom! 'Most cases' is an insult!"

"He just has that on his forehead 'cause he can't beat Wind Waker," Roxas said as he walked into the kitchen.

"… _You_ can't beat Wind Waker? You, _the Zelda geek_, can't beat Wind Waker? I could beat Wind Waker and I don't even play videogames that much!" Kairi scoffed.

"Way to make me feel better," I said sarcastically. Truly, that hurt.

"Glad to be of service."

Someone wants to be ruthless today.

"But seriously, I can't figure this out!" she whined. Good god, even her whining is cute. I'm pathetic, aren't I? I sighed and looked over her shoulder at what she was doing. Logarithms … bleh. Back to the couch.

"Did you set the bases equal?" I asked her, huffing as I plopped back down.

"That's the problem I'm having! How am I supposed to make these equal? I can do the multiplying afterward, but I need to figure out the first step!" she sighed in frustration. Never fear, fair maiden, I shall save thee!

"They'll work as fractions."

It's that simple.

"Mind showing me what you see in this mess that looks like equal fractions?"

Sigh …

I never would've expect Kairi of all people to need help with math, but then again, this particular stuff can get confusing and after a while of staring at numbers, one would lose their mind trying to solve the simplest of equations. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I heaved myself off of the couch (again) and dragged my feet dramatically as I made my way back over to Kairi who happened to be sitting on the ottoman two feet away from me. Then, out of the even deeper goodness of my heart, reserved for only certain people, I helped her create equal fractions for the logarithm problem she was finishing. And I did so quickly so that I could once again return to my beloved couch. She stared at me blankly the entire time.

"How are you not a fat couch potato?" she asked after about three minutes of staring.

"Contrary to popular belief, I do work out," I answered simply. What? I don't only play videogames and act.

"Contrary to popular belief? So then basically everyone thinks you're a couch potato?"

"Yep, basically," my mom's voice carried up from the basement.

"Hey! You know I'm not!" I shouted back at her.

"Uh huh …" was the only reply I got.

"She's right you know."

"Shut up Roxas!"

Even though he was still in the kitchen, I could practically see his smirk. Really though! I'm not just some fatty who lives off videogames and soda. That is simply confined to my weekends. I can be productive when it's necessary!

"Sora, are you seriously pouting?" Kairi asked, a hint of amusement in her tone.

"You guys are poking fun at me," I pouted, huddling myself into the side of the couch and growing my mushrooms.*

"You make it so easy though …" Kairi snickered.

"See if I help you with homework anymore," I grumbled, causing Kairi to laugh even more.

"Sorry Sora. It's just because your pouting face is hilarious. You look like a disgruntled puppy," she said before turning back to her homework. Thank god she did too, because I totally blushed (do not tell anyone I did either!).

"What are you guys huddled up in here for anyway?" Roxas asked from the kitchen doorway, holding a tub of vanilla ice cream. I stared pointedly at it until he noticed and inquired that it was for Naminé.

"Well, we still have to work with our partners to get ready for the play but Sora and I already have all of our lines memorized. We have since we first knew we were doing this play. So basically I'm just doing my homework here since my family is distracting and Rinoa's creepy and will probably know if I was here or not," Kairi answered.

"Yeah, true, she is pretty creepy," Roxas agreed.

"She is not!" Naminé exclaimed as she slowly made her way down the stairs, being extra careful as this is, of course, her first child. "And what's taking so long?"

"Nothing my sweetest, dearest darling who I love with all my heart," Roxas grumbled, obviously being sarcastic (though not about the love thing, just the stupid pet names) before handing Naminé her ice cream. She nodded in approval anyway before continuing over to the couch and plopping down next to me.

"So anyway, when's the dress rehearsal?" Naminé asked the both of us.

"Two weeks," I answered, "The actual play is in three so Rinoa's turning into a green monster and shooting lasers out of her eyes."

"Come to think of it, she does look a little stressed for it to just be a school play …" Kairi mused.

"If that's the case, then there must be talent scouts coming to see the school plays and musicals. That's the only reason she would stress herself out. Who knows … maybe you two could get discovered," Naminé suggested. And she did have a point there.

"I did actually hear about talent scouts being at the school, especially for the musica—"

"Roxas where's my spoon?" Naminé interjected. Roxas immediately stopped talking and when back into the kitchen to get a spoon for Naminé before she could start a hormone fueled rant. And after Naminé had her spoon, the conversation resumed course.

"Now that I think about it, the musical is probably the biggest reason Rinoa's so stressed. She has to make sure we're perfect during class and make sure the kids in the musical are perfect during clubs," Kairi said.

"True, but they have time to work on the musical on weekends with the director and we only have about an hour Monday through Friday …" I added.

"Who's the director?" Roxas asked as he sat down next to Naminé.

"You know that guy who owns that flower shop that Mom helps out at?"

"Marluxia," Mom supplied as she came back upstairs with the clean laundry.

"Oh yeah, that guy. He works at our school?" Roxas asked, confused. I could only facepalm as Naminé patted his cheek as if to say 'don't worry about it'.

"Sora, you just smudged your Triforce," Kairi pointed out blandly.

"Nooooo!"

The ANGUISH I feel!

"Anyway, I would be on my toes if I were you guys," Roxas concluded.

"You should be too, Roxas," Naminé added.

"How come?" Kairi asked.

"I'm writing all of the music for the musical. And I'm writing Yuna's songs for the talent show. She's got a good voice, but she doesn't do so hot at the actual songwriting," Roxas answered.

"Wait what? I didn't know Yuna could sing!" Kairi exclaimed. Which was strange since she liked to hang out in the music room a lot so you'd think she'd know.

"Yeah, she doesn't like for a lot of people to know. I only found out by chance when I heard her singing to herself in one of the empty classrooms that she goes to for recycling. When I asked her if she needed a songwriter, she just kinda … jumped at the chance," Roxas shrugged.

"So you've still got a future going for yourself," I said.

"Meh. If we don't catch the eye of a talent scout then what's the point? I've got a baby on the way, I can't spend all of my time on auditions and such."

"It'll work out for you Roxas, I know it will," Naminé smiled. Roxas smiled back before leaning over to place a kiss on her lips. Kairi simply smiled at them both before turning back to her work. Me on the other hand …

"Get a room guys …"

Of course, Roxas just _had_ to smack me in the forehead for the comment.

"Sora, your Triforce is smudged even more," Kairi stated plainly, having glanced over at the smacking sound before returning to her homework again.

…

"Nooooo!"

THE COMPLETE AND UTTER ANGUISH I FEEL!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

*Ouran reference, just in case you didn't catch that.

A/N: Sorry again about how long this took to update! You wouldn't believe the writer's block I had after finding this stupid flash drive again! Sorry if the chapter's shorter than usual but I was trying to get it out as quickly as possible and between losing my flash drive, having writer's block, and getting ready to freaking move to Georgia(!), this ended up being a bit of a rush job.


	14. Say What Now?

Chapter 14: Say What Now?

A/N: I am NEVER going into the Via Infinito again. EVER! Someone slap me please; why did I even bother?! People think Via Purifico is hard?! Hell no! Via Purifico is a piece of fucking strawberry shortcake compared to Via Infinito! (throws PS2 controller at wall).

Anyway, new chapter! Yayz! If you didn't understand my rant, just ignore it. Read and review please! :D And sorry for taking a while to update; I am moving and it's taking up a lot of my time.

Warnings: Language and a very … interesting conversation between Sora and Zidane.

Disclaimer: -looks around- Don't tell okay? (jk, I wish)

Reviews:

Otherguy14- Thanks for the review! I'm trying to keep the laughter alive here! Again, I apologize for taking so long to update.

RogerW- Pfft Zelda makes everything better!

nightwatcher55- He wasn't being serious … o.O

assassinstar- We've all reviewed like that at some point, I don't mind XD Thanks for the review!

Rivendell101- I hope my PM cleared some things up.

Ace- It's never offensive unless you mean for it to be. Sorry, but I'd rather not put a lemon into this story. It wouldn't flow right with the pace at which I have Sora and Kairi's relationship (or currently lack thereof) moving at. A lemon would seem out of place and forced and I wouldn't want it to mess up the story.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Holy fudge on a fudge sandwich with an extra side helping of fudge!"

… What's with her now?

"What are you going on about, Rainbow Ninja?" I sighed. She chose now to be loud?

"You work here?!" Yuffie exclaimed, taking a seat after Tina* found her and her mother a table.

"Um … yeah?" How was that surprising?

"This is such a nice place though!"

Oh.

"And there's nothing wrong with me working in a nice place!" I retorted, sticking my tongue out at her and hoping Elise wasn't watching (Emory wouldn't care once he found out that I know Yuffie). Of course, in response, Yuffie flicked me in the forehead.

"I'd never had expected to see you working at all. You're so lazy ..."

Ouch.

"I'm demoting you! You're not my side kick anymore!" I huffed.

"I thought I was the general!"

"Whatever!"

Our pointless argument was abruptly halted when someone kicked me in the back of my knee, nearly causing me to fall over. It didn't even hurt all that much, it was just unexpected.

"You may want to get back to work before Elise catches you."

I couldn't even respond to that. My mouth went dry the moment I realized it was Kairi who kicked me. She didn't stay to wait for a response, though. She simply waltzed off. I could only stare after her. Damn. I think I'm drooling.

"No need to slobber all over the floor. All you have to do is ask her out," Yuffie said, interrupting my thought process, and thankfully to as it was spiraling down into some pretty dirty thoughts.

"I couldn't," I sighed, "We only just started being friends again. I don't want to push my luck ..."

"Hmm ..."

And thus, Yuffie pulled out the rainbow bandana that had permanently entitled to her the name Rainbow Ninja and tied it around her head. Shit, she's plotting something.

"If you try to set me up on a date with her, I'm cutting you off," I stated plainly. She's like the little sister I never wanted. She's always getting me to buy her stuff. I'm the one who got her the freaking rainbow bandana! I think it's cause she doesn't like Zidane too much, which is weird because their personalities are sort of similar. They're both kind of annoying, smile just about as much as I do, and would classify as sly ladies' men (don't tell Yuffie I thought that, though).

"Okay, fine, I'll behave," Yuffie pouted, causing her mom to smirk slightly. I simply shook my head and got back to work before Elise caught me and hung me from the roof. I had quite a few tables to get to, orders to be taken, and platters to served, so today was going to be somewhat busy.

"Who was that anyway?" Kairi asked as I made my way to the kitchen to place the first order.

"My freshie," I answered simply. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"You're still trying to build an army of freshman up? I thought you gave up on that idea in eighth grade."

"That was because I knew I would be a freshman the next year. Now I'm back to that idea. And when my army's strong enough, I shall rule all! Hahahaha!"

Okay, so maybe the cackling was a bit over the top, but hey … When you're bored, what else is there to do?

"I can't see you ruling anything. You'd just turn into more of a nutcase," Kairi laughed as she grabbed the large plate for one of her tables and once again, waltzed off. Good God, did she intentionally swish her hips that way?

"You've got it bad, man." I jumped as an arm was propped on my shoulder, the owner of said arm having stated the obvious.

"That easy to tell, huh?" I replied.

"Hey, no problem there," Zidane continued, moving to lean against the door frame to the kitchen, "All you gotta do is ask her out. How could she say no to a face like this?"

And cue the cheek pinching.

"Okay, dude, I get it," I complained, as he can be rather irritating, before pulling my face away, "And, trust me, there are plenty of reasons for her to say no."

"Reasons like what? What, are you some sort of genetic mutation that was born without a penis or something?!"

"Of course not!" I can't believe he just said that.

"Then you shouldn't have anything to worry about! If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. If by that point you don't succeed … try and find yourself a penis, it may help …"

"Okay, look Zidane, I was born with a penis! That is **not** the problem!"

By this point, I think he just enjoyed the apparent hilarity of me being frustrated because it turns my entire face red. Not to mention half of the restaurant just heard me yell that I was indeed born male …

"So what is the problem? If you're that afraid to ask her out then you probably don't want her that badly …" he sighed.

"It's not that, it's just … I don't want to rush it and mess things up between us …"

"You shouldn't be so insecure. You guys are friends, right? And I've heard there was a serious bond between you two before. And Kairi's a pretty girl, man; you don't want someone else snatching her before you get the chance. Be more confident! Where's that smiley face Sora I see nearly every day?!"

"Dancing around the bonfire that is my brain and singing the Spongebob theme song."

"… What are you smoking and where can I find some?"

I could only shake my head as the order came up for one of my tables before getting back to work.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Sora, what you need is some world class advice from the world's greatest ninja."

Sigh. Classes haven't even started yet, and here Yuffie is … being herself. Not that anything's ever stopped her before.

"I somehow doubt that your advice will actually help," I replied.

"What?!" she exclaimed, "I can help! I swear I can! Look, just let me do some recon on this chick. I'll have the name of the shampoo she uses down within a week!"

"Yuffie, that's creepy."

"I don't care!"

"Excuse me …"

We both quit our argument when we heard a deep voice interrupt us. I turned to find Mr. Valentine, an administrator, hand Yuffie a folded paper before nodding at us both and walking off without a word. I was used to it, but Yuffie seemed to be dumbstruck.

"… Rainbow Ninja?" I asked as I waved a hand in front of Yuffie's unresponsive face. Nothing.

"Are you in there?"

Still nothing.

"Were you ever in there in the first place?"

"Holy Hotdogs that guy was HOT!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"What, you mean Mr. Valentine?" I asked, following her gaze to see that it was indeed still fixed on Mr. Valentine who had nearly made it to the staircase by now.

"Yeah, I mean Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome …"

"You know he's a teacher, right? And that you're only fifteen …"

"Pfft, who cares?!" she snorted indignantly, waving the folded paper flippantly.

"I'm sure he does, since he's not Pedobear …" I replied. She had to see reason sometime.

"He doesn't have to know … yet. But we're not talking about me, we're supposed to be talking about you and Miss Santoni," she said slyly, wiggling her eyebrows. And thus, blue eyes rolled.

_Riiiing!_

Saved by the bell.

"Oh, look at that. Off to class for the both of us," I said as I pushed Yuffie to the hallway she should be in before heading to my own class (which was, as usual, boring. And in which I found myself spacing out, alongside most of my other classes). As for lunch … things have somewhat changed yet again. Garnet moved over to Zidane's table, though she's still friends with the rest of us, Wakka's trying to get in extra Blitzball practice so he's absent, Paine is currently … nowhere to be found, Tidus and Yuna are in their own little world … that's mostly it. Otherwise, Rikku still cracks inappropriate jokes while Riku steals my lunch (which currently has me engaged in a spork fight with him), Roxas is trying to talk Demyx and Axel out of starting a food fight, Selphie is _**still**_ trying to coin the phrase 'booyaka', and all the while Naminé is actually eating her lunch and ignoring us all.

But that's not where the trouble started … No, that was drama class …

"Everyone listen up! From now on, we are practicing the entire play in full costume! That means dress rehearsal from now until next week! I expect you all to stay after your last class ends and be in the auditorium from 2:30 until … however long it takes to get this done! So, if you want to leave here early, I suggest you make no mistakes!"

Ah, lovely. Our wonderful teacher can be such a slave driver when she's stressed.

"Wait, Teach, what about clubs and sports meets?" one guy asked.

"They're postponed for the week since there will be talent scouts at the play," Mrs. Leonhart sighed, rubbing at her temples. No doubt the simple thought of talents scouts had her head reeling. I can imagine how excited any teacher would be to see their students go professional, so Mrs. Leonhart couldn't be blamed for feeling the jitters.

"So then, what if one of us can't make it for the play. Only three of us have understudies," another student, female this time, pointed out. That might not have been the best question to ask, though, as one of the veins in Mrs. Leonhart's forehead was protruding slightly.

"You all better hope I don't find out where you live then."

Geez, this woman can be scary sometimes. I highly doubt she's actually that serious, but stress can make one do and say weird things.

"Honestly," Paine started as Mrs. Leonhart waved us to our work, "I get that having talent scouts is exciting, but everyone's too worked up about this."

"I don't think so. If you knew there was a chance you could become famous, wouldn't you be worked up too?" Garnet asked.

"No."  
>"That's Paine for you," Yuna laughed as she sorted through the various props for the play and musical.<p>

"Well, what about you Yuna?" Garnet inquired.

"Hmm, I don't know. It would be pretty nice to be famous, I guess. But I don't know if I'd be able to handle it. I don't really like singing in front of others and I can't really do much else," Yuna answered, as modest as ever.

"Stage fright, huh? I'm in the same boat. I guess I just have to get over it though," Garnet replied.

"You are one of the main characters," Paine supplied.

"Oh don't remind me," Garnet groaned, "You're lucky you get to be an understudy."

Paine simply shrugged.

"Well how about you, Sora?" Yuna asked me, as I didn't need any more practice and was simply listening to the conversation.

"Eh well … I guess it is pretty exciting now that I think about it. There are so many possibilities with talent scouts. Getting scholarships, getting discovered ..."

The possibilities indeed …

"Well I guess the goofy smile on his face answers your question," Paine stated, rolling her eyes and causing the other two to laugh. I couldn't bring myself to wipe the smile off of my face. For as long as acting had been my dream, the fact that talent scouts were going to be at the play and musical was the opportunity that I'd been waiting for all of my life. In other words, it's freaking awesome. Of course, this also meant that I had to work ten times as hard if I even wanted to make an impression. And this wouldn't be my only opportunity, but the fact that it's the first one I've ever had made this entire ordeal even more exciting.

"Don't worry, Sora, we understand," Garnet smiled.

"Yeah! I have no doubt that someone would like you! Your talent really shows on stage," Yuna praised, causing my cheeks to heat up slightly. Gosh … a compliment … on my acting talent no less.

"I think you ruined his face, Yuna. His smile just got wider," Paine simply stated. The comment only got Yuna and Garnet to laugh. Honestly, I didn't mind the jab. I was too excited to really let anything get to me …

That is, until I noticed the look on Kairi's face from across the room. That would be enough to sober anyone's smile.

"Sora? What's wrong?" Garnet asked when she noticed the smile I was sporting fade. I silently shook my head and stood. Understanding appeared on Garnet's face when she realized the direction I was headed in. The other two said nothing as I sat next to Kairi. She didn't move an inch, instead staring stonily at her desk, completely pale to the point of almost looking sickly.

"Kairi?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of my voice but still refused to remove her gaze from her desk.

"Kai, what's wrong?" I asked, the worry I felt growing when she still refused to answer or even budge. I reached out to grab her hand after a few seconds of silence but she flinched away before sticking something in her pocket. Her cell phone? Was there an emergency? She never has her cell phone out in class.

"Kairi? What's wrong?" I asked again, more firmly, "Is something going on? You never have your phone out in school, especially this class!"

"Nothing, okay? Nothing is wrong!" she mumbled through gritted teeth. I couldn't say anything to that. I didn't want to make her angry again, though I couldn't deny that I was worried. This situation, whatever it is, was reminding me of the day Kairi first stopped talking to me. She wouldn't tell me or anyone else what was wrong, she just … closed herself off from us. She made as many friends as she could and climbed her way up the social ladder. But she never looked happy. Sometimes, when she was alone … she looked just like this. I couldn't let her do that to herself again. It wasn't like Kairi to bottle things up, far from it actually. More than anything … I just wanted to help her.

" … Kairi?"

She sighed and finally met my eyes. Hers were stained red and were shining brightly … like she wanted to cry again. I swallowed thickly at the thought. I couldn't take seeing strong, lighthearted, spunky Kairi crying again … it just wasn't right.

"You let me know if anything's bothering you, 'kay?" I asked. Three months ago, she would've glared and growled at me for daring to ask such a thing. So I had to try hard to get over the shock that still arose when she smiled gratefully at me. Relieved, I smiled back. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes before huffing and straightening her shoulders.

"You don't need to worry, Sora, I can handle it on my own," she said cheerily, though the tone was obviously forced. I didn't comment. If I told her how much I wanted to help her fix whatever problem it was she was having, she'd probably throw a fit. I'd have to find some other way to help out … if I could help out at all, that is. … Maybe I should take up Yuffie's offer … nah, she'd let it get to her head and go too far and the last thing I needed was to lose the colonel to my non-existent freshman army at the hands of … well … Kairi. She can still be scary; she's had the ability to scare the shit out of me since I first became friends with her and she realized that us having the same classes meant I got the privilege of carrying her stuff.

"Seriously, Sora!"

I snapped out of it when I felt Kairi poke my shoulder.

"Huh?"

"I know that look in your eyes. I really have it under control, you don't need to try and help out. I can handle myself. And don't try and send your freshman to my house in hopes that she can ninja her way into my room!" Kairi laughed.

Damn … she **must** be telepathic. But not the Edward Cullen kind of telepathic … the awesome kind.

"She wouldn't ninja her way into your room … she would Chuck Norris her way into your room," I grumbled, miffed that she guessed my … well Yuffie's plan. Once again, Kairi only laughed.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

So … here we are. First dress rehearsal. Sure I was dressed like a stuffy, rich Italian man with questionably masochistic tendencies … and was playing a stuffy, rich Italian man with questionably masochistic tendencies, but inside I sure felt swell. … Swell? Since when do I ever say swell? Hmm … anyway, it had taken about an hour for me to get ready. Yeah … an hour. Not to get dressed, no … they had to straighten my hair. And from the moment the last few strands ceased defying gravity and fell to the side of my face … I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Rarely does such a feeling come to me. But one look in the mirror and … I was done for.

"What are you snickering about?" Olette asked with a slightly amused smirk.

"You can tell me this doesn't look ridiculous," I said as I pointed to my head, which felt stiff as bark from the amount of brushing and hair gel it had just received.

"Hey! I think it makes you look dashing!"

…

…

…

… pfft.

"You're horrible Olette!" I pouted, yes pouted shut up, as Olette burst into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry, but … you look like you tried to dress up as a pirate and failed epically at it! And the hair tops it all off!" she sputtered before laughing again. I couldn't even attempt to feel insulted because I knew she was right. And I think my expression told her that too since she only started to laugh more.

"Thank you … so much."

"No problem," she smiled.

"I couldn't even say the same about you," I sighed, looking at her very intricate but nonetheless beautiful Elizabethan dress.

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you," Olette said, smile still very much present, before walking over to her group. I felt myself smile, not letting the outfit jab get to me, before moving to stand near Garnet. She, Bartz* and Kairi were part of my group but Bartz was currently getting scolded by Rinoa for having Boko with him and Kairi was still getting dressed. I could understand why it would take her so long. That corset looked brutal.

Rinoa walked through the curtain to join us backstage, causing everyone to quiet down. She looked even more tense than usual and I couldn't help but worry over how well she would take opening night. Nevertheless, she cleared her throat and said what she had to say.

"We have a surprise guest as our audience today, so I want you all to do the best you can do. It's only the first dress rehearsal and not too serious, but I want this to be as professional as possible. Remember, you only have a week to make this perfect," she said, running her fingers through her hair nervously.

"Who's the surprise guest?" Yuna asked.

"The mayor."

The room suddenly filled with excited babble at the idea of the town's mayor watching our performance. It's not exactly everyday a political figure comes to the local high school to watch a bunch of awkward teenagers attempt to emulate Shakespeare. But I couldn't exactly find it all that exciting. In fact, I was a little apprehensive to see that man again. He didn't exactly like me all that much and I could only guess why. He _is_ Kairi's father …

"Alright, alright, settle down. C'mon, scene one! Let's go!" Rinoa stated, clapping her hands to get us moving. The first two actors made their way onto the stage, immediately starting their lines.

"_I'll pheeze you, in faith_!"

"_A pair of stocks, you rogue_!"

"_Ye are a baggage; the Slys are no rogues_ …"

The voices trailed into the background as I discreetly stuck my head out of the curtain, my eyes searching for the politic in question. He sat in the front row, looking important and yet slightly bored. Expected; it's reaction most people have to Shakespeare nowadays. I had a feeling he was only here for a certain someone. A certain someone who was currently nowhere to be seen. I pulled back from the curtain to look around. Where is she …?

The first scene continued on and into the next without incident. No one made any mistakes; every bit of dialogue was executed perfectly. And just like that, act one started and the prologue ended, prompting the group composed of Lucentio, Tranio, Grumio, and Baptista to step out on stage. But no Katherine*. She was supposed to be in this scene. And Kairi still had yet to appear …

I poked my head out from behind the curtain again, getting a good look at Rinoa's distraught expression and the Mayor's … very pissed off one. His hand was shaking, holding a cell phone with a cracked screen, most likely due to his straining grip, and my worry suddenly increased tenfold.

What happened to Kairi?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

*Again, if you had forgotten, I don't like to refer to her using the American version of her name because it can get confusing (due to there also being a Terra in FFIX, even if it's a planet, and a Terra in Birth by Sleep). And she's not just there randomly; every character in this fic has a purpose.

*He's Hortensio in case anyone forgot.

*I know it's Katherina but I had gotten used to spelling it as Katherine as that is how I spelled it in school. I forgot to point that out earlier.

Also, if anyone was wondering about Zidane's father, I'm not specifying who he is (and I'm not making him Garland … just … no.) And if anyone's wondering about why Sora feels the way he does about Zidane, I guess the best way to describe it would be that (if you've ever read V.B. Rose) it's the same as how Kuromine feels towards Sekiguchi.

A/N: Just beat Trema (finally)! -does happy dance- And now I'm on level 99 for the rest of the game … oh yeah … shmooth shailing—whoops sorry, smooth sailing …(once again, if you didn't get that rant or reference, just ignore them)

I feel as if I did this chapter too soon though. There's going to be a lot of change after this one, after all. But I didn't want to bombard you guys with more filler chapters, cause then I would never get this updated quickly. And filler is nice and all but it's not nearly as exciting as a plot line!


	15. Truth

Chapter 15: Truth

A/N: Hey Goofy, let me borrow your shield for a moment. -turns to face the hateful stares of my readers … or what's left of them- Hey, guys … So yeah. My problem wasn't that I had forgotten this story. I had been thinking about it every day since the last update. No, my problem was that I had to REWRITE THE ENTIRE FRIKKIN CHAPTER AFTER HAVING FINISHED IT MONTHS AGO! Why, you ask? I read over it way back in November and realized that there were so many plot holes in it that Tom could've used it as bait for Jerry. I hated it. So I rewrote it to fix said plot holes and … alas … I was stuck. I thought to myself 'Maybe I should just post it and plot holes be damned!' but I then had to slap myself for thinking such a thing. How could I deserve your beautiful praises if I was rushing crap instead of writing better quality? That wouldn't do at all. So, this one's better. It took me forever to figure out and even longer to reach a computer to type it up, but this is way better than the first version and doesn't leave a Swiss cheese plot worthy of having rotten tomatoes thrown at it. It's still not as perfect as I want it to be, but then again, it doesn't have to be. It's just fanfiction, I'm not putting it for sale to become the next New York Times bestseller.

So, without further ado … the long awaited chapter 15 of The Taming of the Mean Girl.

Warnings: Language … Kairi's story … yeah.

Disclaimer: If I had nickel for every time I had to type this, I could probably buy Square Enix … I don't own.

Reviews:

Mrkhrules- I shall take this moment to tell you that your avatar cracked me up. Dolan's such a creeper! Anyway, this chapter shall answer your question and I'm glad you're enjoying this fic. Thanks for reviewing.

sora93kairi- And here you are. You'll see where Kairi disappeared to.

TheRevSirDrProfMan- Why thank you, I try ;) LOLz, thanks for the review.

kheroxasoray- I now present to you … ah you get it. Of course I'll continue! The show must go on!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Someone go search for Kairi please! I can't believe this is happening!"

Mrs. Leonhart was looking more and more worse for wear, most likely due to stress. It was only dress rehearsal but the perfect performance she was hoping for regardless was ruined when we realized that Katherine wasn't entering the stage as she was supposed to. And as for the Mayor, he seemed to know something. His response to the missing status of his daughter landed him in need of a new phone with a migraine to accompany it. I could only observe up to this far before the worry kicked into overdrive, causing me to launch myself away from the curtain, ignoring the calls of my name as I marched forward. I had no idea where to start, but I was going to find Kairi.

Due to the fact that the dress rehearsals took place after school, the hallways were deserted. Not a soul seemed to inhabit the place. This particular play was important for the school's recognition, leaving all else on the back burner for the rest of the week in lieu of the performance. Yet another thing I hate about this town; it loves its image. Maybe that's why the mayor didn't move a muscle when he noticed his daughter was missing. Maybe because he enjoys being portrayed as the calm and collected leader of the town. And a worried father was the last thing he wanted to appear as compared to a strong leader. And the people here actually buy that! Oh he must be too important to spend time worrying over a teenage girl who showed up late for rehearsal. Well I wasn't falling for his bullshit! Kairi is never late for anything! Something had to be wrong!

I silently thanked my lucky stars for the deserted hallways as it gave me more space and opportunity to look for Kairi without having to worry about bullies, or Seifer's gang (in their own classification of douchebaggery), or people getting in my way. There wasn't much to hide behind in this school; the place nearly has a permanent spotlight trained on every student. Everywhere was wide open, letting sunshine filter to even the most seemingly obscure corners. And I was sure I could find Kairi somewhere here. There's no way she would've walked home wearing her Katherine costume. No one would be crazy enough to do that; they would pass out within the first two minutes from the heat. Unless she had changed out of her costume. And I could only hope she wasn't hiding in the bathroom or something. Sure, I don't have to be the one to find her but … I have a feeling that whatever caused her to up and disappear was important. And I had a feeling that whatever it was, she wouldn't tell if someone else found her first. One thing she doesn't like to do is share her problems with someone she doesn't know or trust too well. There's not even much of a chance she'd tell me, in fact I could be last on her list of people to confide in but … I'd known her since Kindergarten. She knows she can trust me. At least, I hope she does.

I only started to get more worried as I continued searching for her. It truly seemed like she had disappeared into thin air. And, as I've stated, as impossible as that is to accomplish in this school, it made me wonder if she really did walk home. But why would she? And without a word … She did mention some problems going on at home. Is it because her father's here? But that wouldn't make sense. She sees him every day. And never mind why she ran off, I still have yet to figure out where! I've checked nearly every room by now, quite a feat as this school has three floors and a basement. Every once in a while, I would run into another student clad in the same type of costume as my own searching for Kairi as well. They would tell me they haven't found her either and the search would continue. It was … kind of frightening. Where could she have gone? After having finished sweeping through the basement twice, I gritted my teeth and marched outside. As usual, it was sweltering. There could have been no way Kairi would have bothered coming out here in full costume (if she'd changed at all). And if she hadn't, then I was at a loss. But I might as well search anyway. It was always worth a shot.

I scanned the front lawn of the school for a moment. Clear … completely devoid of human occupants. It was almost creepy, the way the normally welcoming front of the school seemed uninviting and barren. Like a ghost town, except the greenery was more plentiful (at least as much as this island's plant life could be). I wasn't giving up though. I hadn't checked all of the grounds yet. I set off toward the back of the school, attempting to fan myself with my shirt and hoping that my hair wouldn't decide to take the heat and humidity as an opportunity to spike up again (since I refuse to sit in that chair for a second time today while my scalp is tortured mercilessly).The back of the school, it seemed was more shaded than the rest of the grounds. Once again, I scanned the area for any signs of life besides the plants and the occasional bird. There seemed to be no one there but I wasn't giving up just yet. I stepped forward, ready to start searching thoroughly, when I heard it. It was muffled and I couldn't really figure out what the sound was but … it was worth investigating. It was coming from the outdoor locker rooms farther down the field. Whatever it was, and however muffled by the metallic structures was loud enough for me to hear by the school. My legs carried me down the hill before the anxiety could even set in. The sound, whatever it was, had stopped by the time I had reached the locker room, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Bracing myself, I opened the door and peeked inside. Nothing. No sign of life. This was getting weird. I rubbed my chin in confusion as I stepped inside the room fully. I could've sworn I had heard it from here. But there was silence. Maybe … I had imagined it? Yeah, that has to be it—

"Sora?"

My body stiffened and I nearly gave myself whiplash as I turned to face …

"Kairi!"

She huffed before pushing me inside and shutting the door.

"How'd you even find me here?"

"I didn't ..." You kind of called my name …

She seemed to realize this as her eyes widened and her palm met her forehead.

"Well don't let anyone else notice us; stay quiet," she said as she sat down on one of the benches. I nodded and squeezed my lips shut, taking this moment to really look at her. As expected, she was fully dressed in her Katherine costume. Her own vibrant red hair was hidden under a very curly brown wig that had been tied back and still reached to just about her mid back. As expected, there was just about every amount of frills on her costume as there were on every other female role's but with Kairi, it looked more refined. Some strayed from her sleeves, starting at the elbow and reaching the tips of her fingers. Some started at the front of her dress, expanding from the waist line and traveling down to her ankles, only to encircle the bottom of the dress. The rest of the costume, in all of its beige and gold glory, was lightly patterned especially along the skirt of the dress, flowing elegantly from below her waist while the above portion was wrapped tightly in a corset stopping just short of her bust and letting the remainder of the dress wrap around her bosom in a voluptuous way and showing off creamy skin peaking out at the top …

I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty shamelessly eying her (my gaze lingering on certain areas) until my eyes met her own violet orbs and the blush I'd been holding back forced itself onto my cheeks. I cleared my throat, ready to ask her why she was hiding when she spoke first.

"Sora, I'm sure you came here for some other reason than to stare at my boobs."

Dammit!

"I—I wasn't—"Come on Sora, think! Umm, compliment her! Something!

"Right ..."

Once again, I shut myself up before I could say anything stupid. The silence was back in the room, having changed from eerie to awkward. I looked up again when I heard her clear her throat. She patted the spot next to her in a silent invitation, to which I reluctantly accepted. I wasn't sure how well I could keep my attention on the important matter but if I want to find out what was wrong at all, I figured I damn well better listen. She stared silently ahead of herself, not moving an inch as I sat down next to her. I could only wait patiently as I felt trying to coax her out of silence would only lead to her kicking me out or something of the like.

"You know," she started after a few minutes, "I always figured this would be easier to say. That I could get over myself and stop treating you like you're the problem. You're not the problem Sora, I never hated you and I never will. I just … I needed someone. I needed someone to understand. And you were there, I just never realized … I was so frustrated at myself … at everyone. I practically hated myself and I took it out on you. It wasn't either of our faults. I doubt you even knew but I … I couldn't let go."

I sat straighter at this and gave her my full attention. She paused for a moment before starting yet again.

"If you haven't noticed, my dad's kind of … intolerant. He doesn't even like kids. My mom, of course, loved them which would be the only explanation as to why my dad doesn't completely disapprove of me. He used to always complain about the children running up and down the street, the noise they make, the way they can complain … a few weeks ago someone tee-pee'd his beach house. He was furious, as expected, but it went beyond that. He never went to find out who did it, he just took his anger out on any kid he met. I usually try my best to stay out of his way. That was never a problem for him until recently. I think he was just stressed and needed someone to listen. He had a lot to be stressed about … especially my mom. I think it's because I look like her. And now that I'm growing up, I think he doesn't want to let me go. That's understandable of any parent … but he's so controlling. He's always pushing me, even though I'm doing my best. I get straight A's, I'm involved in extracurricular activities, I have a job but it's not enough for him. It's never enough ..."

There was yet another pause as she took a deep breath before continuing. I felt like she wasn't telling me the real problem but I wasn't going to rush her. I had to let her go at her own pace.

"I know you hadn't met my mother. No one here had met my mother. She died just before we moved here. In fact, her death was the reason we moved here. I can only remember a little bit about her, but from what I remember … she was perfect. My dad never bothered much with me, being so important and all, and even though my mom's job was demanding, she spent as much time with me as she possibly could. She was my idol basically. There was rarely a day where she wouldn't give me a hug and if she couldn't, it was because she was away working and even then she would send me things. She was a journalist, so she traveled a lot and would be gone for days. She also got in on the best news: what happened, when it happened, why and how. Sometimes, I wonder if she should've been a detective what with how involved she could get in certain news stories.

"There was this one 'story' she was seriously interested in, though. I could only wish it was just a story. There was this gang … they called themselves the Advent, though I can promise you they were the opposite of holy. They robbed stores, killed daily, raped women, trafficked children, every bad thing you could think of. All in the name of some cult they called 'Jenova'. They were planning something, too. Something bad. I don't know what but it was almost to the scale of terrorism. They had connections; lots of them. And mom took extra care to dig up as much dirt on them as she could. She was a very active force in stopping these guys, surprising for a journalist, I know. The only problem was … she found out. She found out whatever they were up to and a few days later … someone sent an order in … and suddenly her car goes from little black sedan to pile of burning metal … and she was inside." Kairi's voice shook as she choked the rest of her words out and her eyes were red and puffy from the tears streaming from them. I wanted to comfort her … but I was too horrified to move. I didn't even expect something like that. What she had to go through … hell, I was practically crying.

Kairi … truly is a strong person. She kept going, even through an ordeal like that. Even now, she wiped at her eyes and continued.

"Their leader was a man named Sephiroth. And he had four brothers: Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz and … one other."

There she paused. I could tell she had more to say, though, so I kept quiet. But the story piqued my interest even more, if such a thing was possible. I could remember those names … it was years ago but they were all over the news. My father would always turn the tv off when it showed. But I really did only remember Sephiroth and his three brothers. So who …?

"Sora." My eyes, which had trailed away in thought snapped back to Kairi.

"Did you … did you know that your father is adopted?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow at her but nodded. He had told me and my siblings years ago. His father walked out before he was born and his mom died when he was young. Apparently he had no one else to turn to, so he was adopted. That was just about all he ever told us involving his past and family. But how did Kairi know and why was she bringing it up.

"Kai … how did you—?"

"My dad told me. I don't know how he found out but I guess he did some digging. Now, Sora, can you guess who the fourth brother was?"

…

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." I said this more to myself than anything but … there was just no way.

"No, no, no Sora! He wasn't a part of that gang!" Kairi exclaimed quickly, assuming that I would jump to conclusions. Of course I knew he wasn't a part of that shit, at least not while I was alive. But it was hard to believe that he could keep something like that hidden for so long.

"So when your dad started avoiding our family …"

"He thought your dad was still in touch with his 'brothers' and that he allowed my mother to be killed," Kairi finished.

"But he would neve—"

"I know he wouldn't, Sora. My dad doesn't …"

I really had to take some time to take this all in. I almost didn't want to believe it. All this time and Kairi's dad thought my dad was the reason Kairi's mom died? And Kairi …

"You never said anything ..."

"I didn't find out until eighth grade. My dad had given up searching a few years before then, but all of a sudden he came across some incriminating information, all sent anonymously. I don't know who knew, or who told him but, Sora, he wouldn't accuse someone for no reason. Someone framed your father. Nothing could be proven except for Mr. Strife's innocence but my dad … he must've needed someone to blame. He wouldn't let go.

"When he told me … I was too broken up. I couldn't be around you without thinking about it. About why my mom, my most favorite person in the world, had to die. I didn't blame you, I could never blame you for something like that, but I couldn't take how much pain it caused me being around you, knowing what happened. I was hoping you would hate me. I was hoping you would stay away, especially from my dad. I didn't want him to do anything to you just to get back at your father. I know it was cowardly but … I didn't know what else to do."

She had to go through all of that … and I didn't even know.

"I'm sorry, Kairi."

She stared at me, surprise forcing back more tears that were threatening to fall.

"For what?"

"For everything. You didn't deserve that."

She continued to stare at me for a moment before a tiny, sad smile started to appear.

"Neither of us did."

Things were changing. I realized that the moment she grabbed my hand.

A/N: Bleh. Life changing events … not so fun to write. But on the plus side, nothing else in this story will be half as depressing. I'm not good at writing angst… Feel free to tell me if you thought this sucked. It's been the reason Kairi's been treating Sora like she hated him since I first came up with this story in June, 2011, but at the time I had no idea how to write it out. Now that I have … ehhh.


	16. Getting Back to Normal

Chapter 16: Getting Back to Normal

A/N: You guys deserve a fun chapter after all that depressing stuff. Alas, this is not it. The fun starts again in chapter 17. This is more or less here to bridge the gap between Kairi acting like she hated Sora and those two becoming friends again. Remember this is still based off of The Taming of the Shrew and Katherine and Petruchio did not become buddy-buddy over a matter of a few pages. So … things go back to normal … after the play. :)

Oh, and I almost forgot that Jesse McCartney's birthday was on the ninth and Haley Joel Osment's was on the tenth so … happy belated birthday Roxas and Sora! :D

Warnings: Language, unintentional(?) injuries, Rinoa.

Disclaimer: I swear on Terra I didn't just try to steal Kingdom Hearts!

Terra: Yes she did! Don't believe her deviousness!

ME: No I'm innocent, I swear!

Terra: Then what's that in your pocket?!

ME: Umm … not the rights to Kingdom Hearts of course! Heh Heh, what are you talking about Terra I would never steal those—

Terra: *summons Ends of the Earth*

ME: -gulp- _… busted._

Reviews:

Choas Studios- Ugh yes! Rewrites are just horribleness! Thanks for the review!

sora93kairi- I know. I'm sorry. You're allowed to jab me with a pitchfork. *hides behind Goofy's shield*

Xerzo LotCN- Hmm … I never thought about changing my user name … But don't worry, I remember who you are! So, like, is that a good wow, or a bad wow …?

The Unknowing Herald- I have PMed you simply because your review made me feel all fuzzy inside …

Otherguy14-_ Sigh_ … I know. Life … but you are quite right, in fact I have chapters 17-20 prewritten so no problems there …

Kazernsky- Aww, I miss Dolan … And no worries, here is the next update! Thanks for the review!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

After Kairi calmed down enough, we left the school shed and headed back to the building. Neither of us said anything. I assumed she simply wanted to drop the matter. I just couldn't stop thinking about it though. That was a lot to drop, especially at a time like this. I wasn't even sure exactly how to react to something like that. Kairi seemed a bit closed into herself. She had dropped my hand the moment we left the shed. I didn't blame her. Those weren't the types of memories one drags up to finally tell someone without being pulled into the feeling of hopelessness yet again. I was, in all honesty, surprised she even told me at all. All these years and …

"Kairi …"

She hummed a response but otherwise didn't react.

"Why did you tell me all of that … now? Not to be insensitive or anything, but …"

"I know. I should've told you much earlier. You deserved to know why I was treating you that way. I guess … it's just— we were finally alone, _really alone_, and it all kind of … spilled out."

"Oh," I stated simply. She looked at me in question.

"Oh?"

I shrugged my shoulders at that, not really knowing what to say.

"… Speechless, huh?"

Another shoulder shrug.

"I was too. I don't blame you. Just … don't dwell on it. That was a lot to take in but it's … it's in the past now," she said. I sighed and nodded at that, not wanting to bring up the issue again. Now was not the time to think about this.

"Well, let's get back then," I stated. We still had dress rehearsal to finish.

"Yeah," Kairi replied quietly. We finished our way back to the school in silence, me fanning myself because it's still hot as Hades out here and we live on an island and _no one_ should be forced to wear Elizabethan tights on an island where cold weather is around sixty to seventy degrees Fahrenheit—

"Oh shit."

Kairi jumped at the exclamation. We had just made it back inside the school and, though I spoke quietly, it still echoed slightly off of the lockers.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Rinoa."

At that, both of her eyebrows raised.

"What about Rinoa …?"

Oh yeah, that's right. Rinoa can be added to the list of people Kairi gets along with simply because they share the same quality of females who kick ass*. Me on the other hand …

"Kairi … this is a problem. I haven't written my will yet …"

At this, Kairi rolled her eyes.

"She's not going to kill you, Sora. She's cares way to much about this play to kill off one of her main characters …"

"That you are right about."

Hold on folks, gimme a moment to find my heart. It just jumped out of my chest.

"R-R-Rin—…!" Help me.

"Sora …"

It was at this shameful moment that I dropped to the floor … and begged.

"I'msorry I'msorry I'msorry I'msorry I'msorry ! I know we're late and all but … Kairi! And … talking! And … gah, I'm sorry! I know we were gone for … however long it was that we were gone—"

"About an hour and a half."

"—and I know we … wait what?" Begging suspended …

"You two were gone for an hour and a half," Rinoa repeated, an edge to her voice that I hoped to god I would never have to hear again. … Begging resumed.

"Please don't kill me!" I squeake—Ahem, I mean … no I didn't squeak. Guys don't squeak … not at all …

"Don't worry, Sora," she stated. "I don't kill my main characters while there's still a show to go on."

"See? Told ya …"

Kairi, that's not helping.

"Okay, look …" Rinoa sighed. "Sora, get off the floor. C'mon, you too, there's a dress rehearsal going on and whatever it was that you too discussed has to be put on the back burner for a bit, okay?"

Kairi and I nodded and I got to my feet. Rinoa watched us with a careful look in her eyes.

"You two sure you're okay?" she asked. Again, we nodded.

"It was never a problem in the first place. I just had some things I needed to get off my chest," Kairi said as she glanced at me. I understood. Nothing more needed to be said.

"Alright well …" Rinoa trailed off, seeming unconvinced but letting it go anyway.

"Don't worry, Rinoa. Everything's been sorted out. We'll get this play done and impress every talent scout you can throw at us! Even the mayor!" I said with an easy smile.

Rinoa smiled back, "Perfect. Let's get this show on the road!"

As we walked back to the auditorium, I noticed the thoughtful look on Kairi's face. I took a chance and nudged her arm.

"What's up?"

"Sora …" she said. "Were you the one who teepee'd my dad's beach house?"

… Shit.

-o-o-o-o-**A week Later-o-o-o-o-

This is it.

The big day … the day we've all been waiting for.

And let me tell you … I have the most annoying wedgie right now.

Too much information? Well too bad. You're the one who's in my head right now, not me.

… Wait …

"Positions people! We've got a play to act and important, rich people to impress! Sora, quit thinking of Kairi naked and get your ass over here!" Rinoa shouted, causing my face to burn.

I could practically hear Kairi glaring at me.

"No, no, no! That's not what I was thinking!"

You know this! Back me up, here!

"Regardless, I don't need one of my main characters daydreaming! C'mon, next set of characters up! The next scene starts now! Grumio, put the laptop **away**!" Rinoa shouted even more. Thankfully, we were in the hallway near the back entrance to the stage so none of the audience could hear her freaking out. She certainly already had all of us scared shitless. Pence almost dropped his poor laptop when she addressed him. I had to force my feet to shuffle over to her just as she opened the back door again.

"C'mon guys, act 1, scene 2! Let's go!"

My heart was racing as I stepped up the stairs, just behind Pence. There were people out there, in that audience, who could get me the job of my dreams as long as I play this right and catch their attention. It was just so … exciting.

"Nervous?" Pence asked.

"More than ever! Why?"

"You're shaking."

Oh jeez. Get yourself together Sora …

"Okay, we're up."

And that was just it. We were on stage. I couldn't feel the pounding of my heart anymore, or hear the whispers of the audience.

"Verona, for a while I take my leave, to see my friends in Padua—"

There was nothing else …

"Knock, sir? Whom should I knock?"

Nothing but the stage.

"Villain, I say, knock me at this gate and rap me well, or I'll knock your knave's pate—"

Nothing but this role.

"—and then I know after who comes by the worst."

This was my life, my dream. Right here. And I was going to make damn sure that it is acted out perfectly.

-o-o-o-o-

"Well done, everyone! Well done!"

"Honestly I'm so glad that's over!"— "I can't agree more …"

"Do you have any idea how much this wig itches?!"— "Well you didn't have to wear—"

"Please, Bartz, quit walking around like that …" – "No way! I was the most swaggalicious Hortensio this audience has ever seen!"

"Never again am I wearing these things." – "I can't feel my balls …"

"Great job out there …"

I snapped out of my reverie as I realized that this particular voice was directed at me.

"Yeah, you too Katherine …" I smiled. Kairi smiled back.

"You really got into the role there …"

"Yeah, you didn't have to grab my ears so hard …" Pence stated blandly, rubbing at his ears. I scratched at the back of my head and smiled sheepishly.

"Heh … sorry about that …"

"Nah, it's cool dude. You did do really well up there," Pence said.

"Yeah," Olette cut in, "You made a really believable Petruchio. I got caught up the act just as much as you did in the role. You were impossible to look away from. And I'm not trying to flatter you."

I felt my cheeks warm at that. Olette and Pence never gave out compliments like that unless they truly meant it.

"Thanks, really," I beamed. They smiled.

"Well, I think it's high time we get out of these costumes," a voice said from behind me. I turned to find Garnet (who had spoken), Paine, and Yuna smiling at us.

"Ugh, I can agree with you," Kairi grumbled, pulling off the Katherine wig and wig cap to reveal a head of slightly messy, pinned-up red hair.

"Well, I think this warrants a visit to the nearest dressing room," Olette joked. Pfft, yeah right. The only dressing rooms we had here were the locker rooms and the bathrooms. I'm assuming they mean the locker rooms. Hopefully, theirs don't smell like feet, sweat, and old deodorant.

Nonetheless, all the girls left to get changed (in their creepy group formation, might I add) and I was left to my own devices. I decided, for the sake of my own balls as well, I should probably take these tights off and never look at them again. I headed to the boy's locker room to do so. Thankfully, no one else was there yet, giving me time to think to myself. And thought I most certainly did, as I got changed. What did this all mean, anyway? For me and Kairi? For Kairi's dad or … my parents. Suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense. Why Mom hated television, why Dad always read the newspaper (it probably became a habit by this point), why both of them seemed so on the edge occasionally … I hoped to god nothing too drastic would happen but … I could feel it. Something was about to change.

"Sora, you okay?"

I looked up at the statement to find Bartz and a few of the other guys standing in the doorway.

"You looked kind of out of it there. You were staring at the lockers …" he said.

"Oh, I was? I guess I'll just … umm …"

"Just go on and get outta here. Besides, there's someone waiting at the door for you …" Bartz continued, smiling slightly. I nodded my thanks, grabbed my stuff and headed out of the locker room. Lo and behold, outside of the locker room stood—

"Yuffie?!"

She smiled at the acknowledgement. Behind her stood Kairi, looking slightly harassed.

"I caught her in an interesting situation. Great job on the play, by the way. I'm telling you now, Sora, you will get somewhere with that. That was professional right there …"

"Umm, thanks? What'd you do to Kairi?" I asked, highly curious about the look on Kairi's face.

"Well, I caught her in an argument with her old man, so I decided to just grab her and run. Your welcome." Yuffie boasted with a proud look on her face. My eyes widened at the news, regardless.

"An argume—"

"Just forget it," Kairi cut me off quickly.

…

"Okay …"

What was that all about?

"Well … I believe I should just leave you two lovebirds alone! See you guys tomorrow!" Yuffie piped in before spinning on her heel and prancing down the hallway. Both Kairi and I blushed at her statement but decided not to comment.

"So, uh … ready to go home?" I asked Kairi after a few seconds of silence.

She nodded and held out her hand.

"Yeah, let's get out of here."

I felt another smile lift the corners of my mouth as our fingers interlocked.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

*Rinoa was one of the strongest members of my party every time I played FF8, so yes … she joins the group of women who kick ass.

**I despise time skips. They seem extremely unprofessional and give a story a feel of not being well thought out. But, unfortunately, there was literally _**nothing**_ happening during that week between dress rehearsal and the actual play and it was either pointless filler or a time skip. I decided, for the sake of updating this before Monday, that I would forgo the pointless filler and just skip the week. I hate pointless filler even more. Remember nearly every chapter in this fic is relevant in some way, same with nearly every character. (I say nearly because there are a few moments—mostly involving Vanille—that add nothing whatsoever to the story).

A/N: So yeah … short chapter, I know. Seventeen's _way_ longer, though. There was originally supposed to be a scene between Sora and Kairi as they were onstage but it was omitted due to certain changes I made in the last few chapters of the story that that scene would have conflicted with. Sorry.

And though this is based on the play, the actual play appearing in here was not the main focus and thus I only included a few scenes from it. It's mostly here to help Sora realize his dream. If you haven't, though, I highly suggest you go out and read the play. It's quite amusing.


	17. 80's Style Slow Dancing

Chapter 17: 80's Style Slow Dancing

A/N: Don't kill me, please…

Warnings: Language

Disclaimer: Perhaps my hostile takeover of the entire galaxy will give me ownership of Kingdom Hearts … nah …

Reviews (there are quite a lot compared to the normal amount I get):

The Unknowing Herald- Can't tell you! :3 What I can tell you is that their relationship is not going to develop at the speed of light, so you'll have to wait and see.

Kazernsky- Yay! Dolan!

Inarx- Aww thank you! Yeah, that was pretty quick. A lot's been going on lately, but hopefully I'll be able to update regularly again.

sora93kairi- That is quite true

Xerzo LotCN- That was a lot, but don't worry because I like long reviews! Thanks! (And thanks for waiting!)

the ultimate kh fan- Here 'tis!

Gohan Roxas- Yay! I'm glad you love it!

kmacroxs- That makes two of us. I promise I'll get back on updating though!

Infinity Soul- Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

SleeplessMemories- I'm a lady! ;) I'll get back on updating, no worries!

Little lion- Thank you so much! Here's the next (actual) chapter!

Guest 1- Thanks for waiting!

I'm guessing the second and third guest reviews are from the same person, so Guest 2- Yes, A Goofy Movie is all amazingness! And I hope Roxas' reaction didn't seem too insensitive. I just figured not everyone would react to their partner's teenage pregnancy in the best of ways when first hearing about it.

Meandor711- I'm glad you enjoyed it! Here's the next update (yaaay)!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"... Um … isn't this illegal?"

"No one has to know."

…

"..."

"..."

OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD! I'm gonna get arrested! I'll lose all of my dignity and it'll be on my permanent record and I'll never get a decent job and then Kairi will hate me and we'll never get married and have beautiful kids and grow old together and I'll be working in a gas station covered in tattoos and piercings and—

"Sora, calm down. What did I tell you? You know what to do; go over everything again," Dad said in his usual monotone, sensing my freak out. And freaking out was indeed what I was doing.

"Okay, okay. Mirrors, check. Seatbelt, check. There's no one behind me or in front of me, so…"

"Put the car in drive and make sure to keep your foot on the brake pedal."

I did as I was told, praying to whoever was up there listening to not let me have a heart attack and die.

"Sora," my dad started, rolling his eyes. "Neither Jesus, Buddha, nor George Washington are going to help you to learn how to drive. Now slowly take your foot off of the brake pedal and ease it onto the gas pedal. _Slowly_."

He then sighed and rested his head against his hand in boredom. At that moment, I felt this irrational feeling of loneliness that may or may not have led to the following incident.

Now of course I, being the nervous dumb shit that I am, did the exact opposite of what he told me to do. Dad, having expected my idiocy, had his other hand firmly pressed against the dashboard.

Rolling his eyes, he told me to continue.

"Well, go on."

W-what?

"Go on…?" I asked, teeth chattering.

"Yeah. Drive."

…

OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOH—!

The car is moving. Oh my god. I'm driving down the street.

Good bye cruel world.

Though these thoughts honestly weren't doing me any good. I tried my best to get ahold of myself and pay attention to my surroundings so as to not hit somebody's car. Or, you know, somebody. The pressure (admittedly nonexistent when I thought about it) was starting to make my vision blur, but I persevered. To the next stop sign. Where I stopped. And waited.

And waited.

"Sora, what are you doing?" Dad asked in annoyance.

"Eh heh…"

Hmm, I don't know, Cloud Strife. Y'see, this is indeed my first time driving on the street. I'm normally used to empty parking lots and—what are you doing? Why'd you switch on the turn signal? Why am I going right?!

I couldn't take my foot off the brake pedal.

"Just drive."

"But—"

"Just drive."

"I might—"

"Just drive."

"Dad…"

He glared at me before motioning his head towards the road.

"I'll give you five seconds."

I drove dammit.

"And speed up a little bit. You don't want to get pulled over."

I sped up dammit.

Once again, Dad sighed in boredom and started to stare out the window. In all of my eccentricity, that simple gesture brought back the feeling of loneliness full force. In two weeks, I'd be getting my permit. For two weeks, Dad would be taking me on these 'on the road' driving lessons. In those two weeks, I had the possibility of getting pulled over while driving without a permit.

God help me…

"Sora, just breathe normally and keep going. You're doing fine," Dad reassured me, still staring out of the window and leaving me to wonder how he knew I was nearly hyperventilating in the first place. I couldn't even hear myself breathing. Then again, that could be due to the roaring in my ears…

Oh hey, look! I think I recognize the car in front of me.

… When did a car get in front of me?

"Sora, ease up a little and don't hit Tifa's car…"

Oh, that's why I recognize the car. Who could forget Mrs. Lockhart and her bright cherry red VW beetle?

…

Oh god don't let me hit Mrs. Lockhart!

I nearly had another heart attack when she stuck her hand out of her window and waved at us. Dad took the liberty of waving back, because apparently he, mom, and Mrs. Lockhart go way back, so he can do that. I would've waved back myself, but then Dad would've killed me… if I didn't crash and do that myself.

But aside from that, the rest of the trip was (somewhat) uneventful and, for the most part, spent in silence. I'd finally calmed down enough to drive with a little more ease, and less 'I'm gonna get pulled over' thoughts ran through my head. The number of freak outs I had planned out for this excursion were barely put in action, aside from the rabbit that hopped in front of the car (hence why it was a _somewhat_ uneventful ride) and in that case, Dad had to grip the wheel to keep me from swerving. We made it back in one piece, though. But now we reach the last part of this lesson, the enemy of all drivers…

Parallel parking.

Dad told me not to pull into the driveway, but to pull over to the curb to practice. He told me to stay close to it, but not too close. He told me not to leave half of the car sticking out in the street. He also told me that if I messed up his tires, he'd hang me from the roof by my belt-loops.

He was serious.

Needless to say, I did pretty well for my first time. I also had a pretty bad stomach ache. You can guess why.

Finally, after backing into the driveway, I put the car in park and turned it off, unhooked my seatbelt, flung myself out of my seat, and proceeded to kiss the lawn. Dad calmly stepped out, walked over and patted my head, took his keys back, then unlocked the back door and stepped inside the house. After sitting on the lawn for a few minutes, frozen and hoping my knees weren't planted in dog crap, I got up and followed.

The stomach ache never went away.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, first on the road experience, huh?" Kairi asked slyly as she stole my fries. Everyone seems to do that nowadays… Of course, after years of Tidus, Riku, Selphie, and Wakka doing it, I've learned to just ask for extra fries. The lunch lady took pity on me and decided not to charge me extra. And yes, if you were wondering, Kairi is indeed sitting at our table again. And she's not glaring at me! Yay! Everyone welcomed her back with open arms now that we've become friends again. Selphie was the only one who seemed to have a problem with it, but she kept her mouth shut (aside from shoveling more of my lunch in her mouth, the greedy little…). So the table had basically settled back into its usual routine, sans the glaring of course. Well, aside from the tiny one I shot at Kairi in answer to her question. She, being a month and a half older than me, already got her permit. So for her, my driving lessons were a great excuse for her favorite 'make fun of Sora for being a pussy' pastime.

"You'd be terrified too if my dad was teaching you," I pouted. Shut up about the pout, because you know what? I rock that shit.

"I can actually agree with him on this one. Dad taught me to drive a couple of years ago. It was the most terrifying experience of my life," Roxas added.

"Why's that?" Naminé asked.

"I busted a tire…"

'_By the way, if you mess up my tires, I will hang you from the roof by your belt loops. Good luck.'_

"Oh shit, bro… I'm so sorry…" I tried to console him as I patted his shoulder. He nodded back solemnly. Naminé simply shook her head in disbelief. It's best she doesn't know…

I went back to my disappearing french fries, when suddenly Naminé jerked in surprise.

"Oof!"

That moment was then recorded in history as the Great Selphie Attack. Copywrited.

"_**Oh my god did the baby just kick?!**_" she squealed as she launched herself at Naminé. Naminé nodded, rubbing at the top of her swollen belly.

"Yeah, he's been having a field day in there," Roxas said, wrapping an arm around his smiling girlfriend.

"So, it is a boy…" Rikku mumbled to herself.

"Guess he would be **your** son to be so violent," Selphie snickered at Roxas, clinging to Naminé's other side.

"Shut up!"

Cue laughter from the entire table.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Kairi asked. I could practically feel the atmosphere of the table heat up. That question… was the wrong question to ask.

"Well, I want it to be an interesting name," Nam started off.

"Not too normal," Roxas said.

"But not too weird," Naminé finished.

Things were calm so far until…

"I wanted him to be named Tommy," Selphie pouted.

Until that statement was made.

"That's 'cause you always wanted a little bruddah named Tommy," Wakka sighed, shaking his head.

"You hush!" Selphie spat back. "You got to have Chappu! Why can't I have a little brother? Huh?!"

Wakka's eyes rolling could be heard for miles.

"All I got was a fat, lazy cat named Doug," Selphie whined pitifully.

"I thought Doug died," I mumbled, scratching my head. That cat seemed to disappear around seventh grade.

"No, he just doesn't like you."

"… Well I don't like Doug either!"

"Guys," Riku intervened. "This isn't about Selphie's fat ass cat. This is about Nami's baby. And no he will not be named Tommy!"

Naminé nodded in agreement, hiding the smirk on her face behind her hand. Of course she finds this amusing.

"But it's such an adorable name," Selphie continued, as if her cat was never brought up in the first place.

"But remember, she wanted something that was special and not generic," Yuna added, trying to redo her long braid. Rikku jumped at the chance to help, leaving both Tidus and Riku slightly disgruntled.

"So then what?" No, no, no! Kairi don't ask that! Shit, now the floodgates are open.

And thus the stupid name flinging began. Again.

"Thadeus!"

"No, Theodore!"

"No way! Alberto!"

"He's not Spanish!"

"So?!"

"Donald!"

"No!"  
>"… Mickey?"<p>

"…"

"I'm sorry, I had to…"

"He should be Jonah!"

"Wilbur!"

"Octavius!"

"Tobias!"

"Maurice!"

"Josiah!"

"Raymond!"

"Edmund!"

I'd stopped paying attention to who shouted what by this point. The name vomit started at some point last week, and escalated to the point where half of the names suggested weren't even used in modern society anymore. Nams thought it was hilarious.

"I still say Tommy was way better than all those shitty names!" Selphie exclaimed, banging her fist on the table (dramatic as ever).

"Still too generic…" Yuna mumbled. Rikku, who seemed to be fed up with not only the name vomit but a particularly painful knot in Yuna's hair, decided to end the conversation all together.

"Screw generic, just name him Ben!"

"Isn't it Naminé's choice in the end?" Kairi asked. Everyone turned to Naminé, then, as she scratched her chin in thought.

"Got an idea?" Roxas asked.

"I think so," she replied, nodding.

"So, what'll it be?" Everyone collectively asked in some way, shape, or form.

Naminé smirked to herself.

"It's a secret."

…

The outburst that resulted drew the attention of nearly every occupant in the cafeteria.

"What? A secret?!"

"Aren't we friends? You can tell me!"

"I can keep a secret!"

"No fair!"

Nams continued to shake her head at them, smirk ever present on her face. She was obviously enjoying this way too much. Roxas, on the other, didn't look nearly as pleased. He was rubbing his temples and glaring at the table, which I could understand. They were starting to give me a headache too.

"Alright, alright. Let the lady breathe!"

Everyone quieted at the new voice that invaded the chaos this table had created, looking up to see who had bothered to get involved in the first place.

"Not starting crap today, Axel?" Roxas asked, watching in boredom as Axel and Demyx made themselves comfortable, leaning against the table. At Roxas' jibe, Axel grinned and patted Naminé's head.

"Nah, I figured you guys didn't need my mess on your hands with a baby on the way and such. I'll hold it in until your wedding," he replied easily, ignoring Naminé's hands as she tried to bat his own away.

"Drunken bastard until the end, huh Ax?" Demyx asked, although he was grinning prominently as well.

"That's all I need," Roxas grumbled before muttering to himself about revoking wedding invitations and such. Hell, to be honest, I kinda hoped he was serious. A drunken Axel is a fire hazard. Nams seemed to not care as much, though.

"You're welcome to do so as long as you can dodge or deal," she told Axel, returning his earlier favor by patting him on the head. He had to bend down to allow her to do so.

"Dodge or deal?" Selphie asked while… god damn it woman, give me back my chocolate milk!

"She means if he can either dodge the adults or deal with them should he get caught drinking," I told her as I tried to steal back my carton of milk. I'm half a head taller than her, this should not be as much of a challenge as it's turning out to be!

"Hey, I have confidence in my dodging abilities," Axel said smiling proudly. Demyx rolled his eyes. I was with Dem, here. I had a feeling Axel would be dealing.

"That's what you said last time, and you were suspended for three days. You should have been expelled," Roxas reminded him.

"Yeah, but Xemnas doesn't give that much of a damn anyway. I can always count on getting away with shit when it comes to him…" Axel replied, scratching his head as if he was unsure of his own words. I wish I could say the same. Xemnas always gives a damn when I do something wrong…

"And speaking of Xemnas, I see the Great Superior of Suck coming over here right now, so we'd better bounce! See you guys, stay beautiful!" Demyx finished with a peace sign before running off, Axel on his heels grumbling about nosy principals.

"That was tamer than most days," I noted after a moment of silence.

"I call it the magic power of pregnant women. They get all motherly on you and calm everyone else down until that fated day…" Rikku said. I decided not to point out the flaws in that logic. Everyone was too distracted anyway, imagining the different ways that fated day might play out. Naminé especially looked pretty nervous at the thought that she would be giving birth in a few months. I didn't blame her though, it is her first baby. I guess any new mother would be nervous; certainly one who hadn't even graduated high school would.

"You'll be fine, Naminé. You both will, I know it," Roxas comforted her after noticing the mix of emotions on her face, fluctuating between apprehension and excitement.

"I know."

Everyone at the table smiled at them, silently wishing the best for them. I said my own silent prayer for them as well (hoping to God they wouldn't need it). No… they'd be fine, I was sure of it.

"Well, as much as I hate to interrupt this heartfelt moment, the bell just rang so…"

At Tidus' words, everyone snapped out of it, scrambling to throw away their Styrofoam trays and make it to class on time. Quite a difficult feat considering how big this school is…

Pfft. For them.

"Oh, quit smirking Mr. Class-Next-Door," Kairi exclaimed with a roll of her eyes.

New semester, new classes… oh yeah.

"The last thing he needed was another reason to be lazy," Riku sighed.

"Don't hate, Riku. Hate is ugly," I replied, earning an annoyed shove.

"We'll get him back later. Let's get to class, ya?" Wakka cut in, Selphie trailing behind him and looking torn between going to her favorite class or harassing Naminé some more. She ultimately chose class.

"Agreed. If I'm late again, coach'll have my ass on a platter," Tidus said before grabbing Yuna's hand and dragging her away with him. And wait a second, ass-platter? Really, Tidus? Really? Yuck. Rikku seemed to agree with me there.

"Grab the brain bleach," she muttered as she walked off behind them.

Rox and Nam had already left, leaving me at the table with Kairi. She twisted her fingers in her hair, smiling nervously at me as if she expected me to just up and leave her there. I hoped that wasn't what she expected. She already knows she's not to blame for everything that's happened. Smiling back at her, I held out my hand.

"I can walk you to your next class if you want. My teacher won't care of I'm late from lunch since she usually is too."

The nervous expression on her face disappeared, replaced with relief as she placed her hand in mine.

"Thanks, I'd like that."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, playboy, wanna explain what _that_ was?"

Rainbow Ninja strikes again.

"No, Yuffs. Now kindly get off my back." Literally.

"Aw, c'mon! Tell me! Are you two **finally** together? Gimme the juicy details!" Yuffie continued as if she hadn't heard me. I don't know, maybe she didn't. I'm still under the impression that her head is full of fuzz and every time I talk, all she can hear is '_Craziness! Rainbows! Robert Downey Jr!_'…

"I saw you holding hands…!"

"Alright, nosy, so we were holding hands! Please get off so I can put my book bag on and go home!"

So, yes indeed, Kairi and I were holding hands when I walked her to class earlier today. It's not something to make a big deal out of, honestly! …Okay so maybe I was dancing on the inside. And maybe on the outside as well once I left her classroom. And maybe I high fived a teacher and bro-fisted some random dude in the hallway. Still not a big deal.

"Okay, okay! And!" Yuffie apparently thought it was a very big deal. She still thinks something happened. Well…

"And then…"

"Yeah?"

"And then…!"

"Yeah?!"

"I went back to class."

Yeah, nothing happened. At all. No need to get your hopes up.

"Seriously? You butt-face! Kiss her already!" Yuffie shouted, earning the attention of several others. Just keep walking down the hallway, Sora. The door is right there.

"Yuffie, nothing's going on between us," Unfortunately. "Just give it a rest. So we held hands. Friends are allowed to hold hands."

"Well friends aren't supposed to have that dreamy look on their face while they think about said hand holding. At least not without doing something about it," she retorted. Damn, she had a point too. I probably should be doing something about it.

"Well, regardless, I don't even know if she feels the same way! I can't just force my feelings on her!"

"You straw-grasper! Did you even ask her?"

"Well no, but—"

"Then how do you know how she feels, huh? You don't!" Yuffie interrupted, a determined look on her face.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, glaring at her in suspicion.

"Ah, ah, ah!" she waggled a finger at me. "I'll tell you later. Not right now. I've got to plan!"

That doesn't sound good.

"Don't worry, Sky God! Leave it to me!" she shouted as she ran off. I wasn't even sure I wanted to know…

_Friday, 6:30 am_

_Knock, knock, knock_.

If you're one of Vanille's stalkers, you've got the wrong window. If you're actually here for me, I'm not here. I never was here. I don't exist. There is no Sora Strife. Please go back to wherever you came from. Unless you have food, in which case: welcome. Set it on my desk and leave.

These thoughts were of course followed by the sound of my window opening. Why was it not locked, you ask? Because I know just about everyone on this island. And whoever just let themselves in through my window probably knows me since they went to the trouble of climbing up the side of my house and finding out where I sleep. Whoever they were, they at least had the decency to close the window back before the bugs came marching in. Or flying, rather. Oh, and this person just turned my light on… and tripped over my desk… and fell into my closet door.

Fuck. It's Yuffie, isn't it?

"Go away, Rainbow Ninja," I groaned as I turned over. It's too early for this shit anyway.

"No! We've got big plans for today! Get your butt in gear, Mister! And how'd you know it was me?"

There was the sound of more stuff knocking around as she tried to right whatever it was that she knocked over when she tripped. Seriously, based off of that, who wouldn't be able to tell it was her.

…And what are these plans she's yacking about?

"Never mind that! C'mon! Get up!" she continued after what sounded like her kicking my closet door. Sighing, I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. The first sight offered to me was Yuffie's weird face.

Well she _is_ making a weird face. Not trying to be mean or anything.

"What?"

"Where the hell did you get muscles?!"

"I've told everyone else and now I'll tell you! I actually work out! I may not be Riku Schwarzenegger, but I'm not Jack Skellington with spiky hair either!"

"Of course not, you're too short."

"… You little—"

"As I was saying, I have big plans for you today! So get outta that bed!" she interrupted, holding up an index finger and waggling it like she was my mother. I groaned again (because why not?) and slid out of bed. Into a pile of Sora on the floor. Mmm, sleep…

Yuffie did not seem to take this well as she waltzed over and pulled me up. Then she pushed me over to my drawers and opened them for me. Then she waited.

"Are you going to stand there and watch me get dressed?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup."

…Okay. I just got dressed. It's only Yuffie anyway…

"I'm going to brush my teeth. Try not to fall back out of the window."

She saluted to me in response like a proper General would. I guess. As I walked out of the room, Moonlight –who must have been waiting outside my door– silently pushed passed me to go greet Yuffie. I just left her be. It's not like she'd hurt Yuffie or anything, and Yuffs already knew I had a dog anyway.

Of course, when I finished and went back into my room, Yuffie was on the high shelf in my closet and Moonlight was on her hind legs jumping up at the poor freshie. How Yuffs got up there in the first place will remain a mystery.

"She just wants to meet you Yuffie."

"No!"

"Yuffie, come out of there."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuffs?"

…

"Yuffie?"

…

"Yuffie get your ass out of my closet!"

"The hell is going on here?"

We both jumped at that. Moonlight barked.

"Oh. Morning Roxas," I said after the shock passed.

"Why are you yelling at your closet?" he asked as he let himself in. Then he looked into said closet. "And what's your weird freshman girl doing in your closet?"

"Is he harboring women? I thought you knew better than that!"

Looks like I woke everyone up.

"Of course I'm not harboring anybody! Go away Vanille!" I shouted. She only laughed before grabbing Roxas' shirt and dragging him out.

"C'mon Rox! Let's leave our little brother to his girlfriend, or one of them rather," Vanille giggled as she closed my door. Family, I tell ya…

"I like your sister. She's kinda funny," Yuffie said.

"No she's not. And can you please come out of my closet now!"

"Can the dog leave first?" she asked, shooting a wary glance at Moonlight. Poor Moonlight only wanted to make a friend.

"No. Get down here and meet my dog! I thought you liked dogs! Didn't your dad own one when you were younger? Weren't you the one who said you even named it after your old friend Nanaki? You have no excuses!" I shouted back. Shouting usually works. Usually.

"That's different! Nanaki's nice and sweet and loving and adorable!" she whined.

"Well so is Moonlight!" I replied, bending down to pet her. "Aren't you a good doggy! Yes you are!"

Moonlight's responding expression was something like 'Unhand me, you spikey haired weirdo', but I didn't take it too seriously. She loves me back, I know she does.

It seemed to work on Yuffie, though. She jumped down from my closet and slowly started approaching Moonlight. Of course, Moonlight wasn't having any of that and immediately bounded towards Yuffie. The ensuing chase was entertaining enough to make me forget that it was nearly seven in the morning on a Friday. A conference day, might I add. Meaning no school. Yeah thanks General, you are now demoted.

"Yuffs."

She stopped running, and (thanks to Moonlight's epic swag) didn't get knocked over by my overexcited dog in the process.

"Yeah? What?"

What do you mean 'Yeah? What?' how about why are you in my house at this god-awful hour on an early weekend?!

"What is this plan you keep going on about?" I asked, deciding to stay calm about the situation. That usually works for me too.

"Well, first of all before we get into that, you need to find something else to wear," she said, waltzing back over to my closet with Moonlight on her heels. Either she was too tired to care, or she finally realized how nice Moonlight is. Yuffs started to root through my clothing, making a face at just about every piece of fabric she set eyes on. I couldn't blame her. The only things that ended up in the closet were clothes from Grandma Elmyra…

"Yuck! What is this?!"

Oh, and that.

"It's the school uniform," I told her. "Didn't you know?"

"Umm, no? I don't have one!" she said as she held the hanger on which my white shirt and blue plaid-patterned pants were situated.

"Yes you do. Mrs. Lockhart bought you one."

"Just call her Ms. Tifa. She says she wants you to call her that. Oh, and how come I have yet to see this school uniform? Huh?"

"Yuffie, you always wear tank tops and shorts, which you told me you kept stuffed under your bed. Your uniform is probably in _your_ closet," I sighed. She scratched her head in confusion, probably trying to grasp the idea of owning a uniform and not knowing about it.

"How come I never see anyone in their uniforms?" she finally asked.

"It's only for the first and last days of school and field trips," I said. Yuffie's a transfer student, so she never attended on the first day.

She seemed to accept this as she simply nodded before continuing through my drawers.

"You know, you need a better wardrobe. All you have is a bunch of t-shirts and shorts… oh and those ugly unmentionables in your closet." I had to agree with that.

"Roxas has a better wardrobe," I suggested. He wouldn't mind.

"Quick, then! To Roxas' room!" she shouted. Moonlight barked in agreement.

"Hold your horses, Rainbow Ninja. We can't just prance in there. Nine out of ten odds are that Naminé is still sleeping in there and most likely completely naked. I'll have to go ask Roxas to get… whatever it is that you need me to wear. Why do I have to change anyway?"

Yuffie froze for a moment before turning away with a sheepish look on her face. That set off warning bells already.

"Uh. Riku said not to tell you why yet…" she mumbled.

Riku?

"Riku's in on this?!" The hell?!

"Yep. Riku, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie… Really everyone's kinda in on it, but those four –and myself of course– are the main plotters."

Plotters. Yeah, that's a good way to describe it. Bunch o' monkeys.

"Fine." I got up and stuck my head out of the doorway. "Roxas lemme borrow your clothes!"

"For what?!"

"I dunno! But Riku's in on it!"

"…Okay."

There were the sounds of footsteps as Roxas jogged upstairs and headed into his room. He walked out about two minutes later holding a light blue buttoned shirt and jeans that weren't raggedy as all hell. Then, after dropping them in my arms, he saluted and went back into his bedroom with a small and nearly unnoticeable smirk on his face. Ha. I knew Nams was still in there… and probably naked.

Moving on.

"How'd he know you needed nice clothes?" Yuffie asked, not bothered at all as Moonlight curled around her feet and laid there.

"That's the only reason I would borrow clothes from him. He knows how horrible the stuff our Grandma sends me is. Plus he actually spends his money on nice clothes. Mine just kinda sits there…" Aside from the GameCube controller I had to buy since I tossed my other one out the window a while back and still haven't found it. It's that damn triforce quest, I swear…

"Well start buying clothes for yourself you bum!"

"Hey! No one calls me a bum but Kairi!"

At that, Yuffie rolled her eyes and made her way back to my window.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"We gotta leave, duh!" she said as if it was common knowledge that the exit of my house was through my window.

"We're not climbing out of my window at seven in the morning just to go see Riku."

She scoffed at that. "Well what do you expect me to do, use the front door?"

What the fuck do you think, woman?!

It seems she understood that from whatever facial expression I was making since she pouted and went out of my door instead. Ahem: Sky God-1, Commander Rainbow Ninja-0. I still got it.

"Quick smirking to yourself and get your butt changed and down here!" Yuffie shouted up the stairs. I'm honestly surprised my parents haven't come out of their room to scold us yet.

"Sora, what's all that noise about?"

Goddamnit. At least it's just Mom.

"Nothing, Aerith dear! Go back to sleep!"

There was a sigh in response, which meant she probably went back to bed. Mom never questions my weirdness. Probably because she's where I got it from. I still remember the story she told me of how she and Dad met. Apparently, it involved bee outfits, Dad in a dress, and 80's style slow dancing, all of which she had planned out for weeks. I never bother to ask her to elaborate after that. I really didn't want to know.

By the time I got downstairs, Yuffie was completely fascinated by Moonlight. I had a feeling that would happen. She was sitting on the arm of the couch petting Moonlight's head, which was rested in her lap.

"Told you. Moonlight's super friendly," I smiled.

"Yeah, okay," Yuffie rolled her eyes at me. She knew I was right though. "Time for us to go anyway, so I won't be taking up too much of your dog's time."

With that, that she stood (after Moonlight moved of course) and headed for the back door. I guess she remembered that no one uses the front door. Except for Vanille who was currently standing halfway out of the front door staring at something. I wasn't going to ask about that either. Whatever weirdness I got from Mom, Vanille got tenfold. Figured I'd let her know I was leaving though.

"See ya, Vanille. Don't burn the kitchen down."

She nodded at that, although I think I heard her mumble something like 'where's he going at seven in the morning?' to herself.

"I'm hanging out with Riku."

No more questions were asked. No one ever asked when it came to Riku. He's my best buddy, so it was almost a default that I was either hanging with him or Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. And currently they were all outside. In my driveway. Staring at me.

"What the hell?"

Yuffie turned and grinned at me. Not an innocent grin that all adorable little freshies should have. No, it was that demented grin that promised pain on my part if I didn't go along with… whatever this was. It was as ruthless looking as any commander of my freshman army should have. I, however, did not like it being directed at me.

"Am I being kidnapped?" C'mon, who wouldn't think they were being kidnapped in a situation like this?

"Don't let him ask any questions, Yuffie! Just grab him and throw him in the back!" Tidus hollered out of Riku's open window. He was currently sitting shotgun, with Selphie and Wakka in the back holding the door open. Riku was, as usual, in the driver's seat. The only thing absent was the normal bored look on his face. This time, he was grinning alongside everyone else. That was scary.

Really fucking scary.

"I'm gonna go back in the house now," I said, turning away and heading back to the door. Yuffie grabbed my arm before I could move very far. Did I mention she knew martial arts? And that it made her disturbingly strong?

"Nuh-uh! Not a chance, Sky boy! You're coming with us and that's final!" Yuffie said as she dragged me over to the vehicle.

"But I still don't even know what this is all about!" I complained, now squished between Yuffie and Wakka in the back seat. They were all still grinning at me.

"You mean you haven't figured it out? We're here to help you!" Tidus said.

"… Help me what?"

"Easy. Help you get the girl."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Dun Dun Duuuuun! Lol no, it's not as bad as Sora made it out to be. Well, tune in next chapter for the beginning of the "Get the Girl" arc which will be all kinds of silliness! This is a comedy story loosely based off a comedy play, so what'd you expect? Dinosaurs? Silly duckies… I wish there were dinosaurs in this story.

But in all seriousness, I'm _so_ sorry I took so long to update! I'm not gonna lie to you guys, I haven't really been very motivated to write lately. I'm taking most of my classes online, so most of my computer time is spent doing college work, and when I'm done I usually just turn the computer off and don't bother doing anything else. I'm really surprised that people are still even reading this story to be honest. I'd like to thank each and every one of you for still sticking to this goofy story, even though I haven't added an actual chapter in nearly a year now. You guys rock my socks off! Thank you so much!

Also, I gave a pretty big clue as to who the baby is.


	18. Get The Girl: From, Tidus

Chapter 18: Get the Girl! -From Tidus

A/N: I'm surprised it took this long for me to get this chapter out. I've had half of it typed up since before I even started chapter 17, and I've added to it every week since my last upload.

Ah well… Anyway, I've tired of the drama for now, that can come back later. Let's do something fun.

Warnings: Language and fan service (?).

Disclaimer: I swear on my Kingdom Hearts collection that I don't own Kingdom Hearts! ...That made no sense.

Reviews:

The V-Blade- Yes! Go forth and read Shakespeare, my pretties! Hahaha! Lol, but seriously, if you enjoy Shakespeare then I do recommend _The Taming of the Shrew_ for a laugh. No she's not, I just wanted her hyper for this story. I actually like her better when she's not so hyper.

Chaos Studio- And here is more!

Inarx- Yup. I couldn't believe it either, honestly. I'm glad you're enjoying it and thank you! As a matter of fact, I did quite well in those classes. Now that they're over, I should be updating more.

the ultimate kh fan- Bwahaha! My evil plan to cause nonstop laughter in the world's population is coming into fruition!

Robert DeWarren- Yeah, I mostly wanted to keep it to the FF characters in KH, but I had to stick a few more in. I'm glad that you like the story! So far, there have been eight Organization XIII members that have either appeared or been mentioned: Xemnas (principal), Saïx (Vice Principal), Axel (Roxas' friend), Demyx (Roxas' friend), Marluxia (Rinoa's sub), Larxene (mentioned), Roxas (Sora's brother of course!), and Xion (mentioned). If I can find a place for the rest, I might add them in but I try to avoid adding in too many characters. *I stuck Zexion in there for ya, though*

TheHopelessRomantic21- Here's an update! :D I can start getting out more updates during the summer!

Guest- I will, I will! *please don't hurt me 0.o*

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

I looked up, startled, as Tidus' bag slammed on my desk.

"Tidus … what are you doing in my math class?" I asked, genuinely confused. He is a senior so... yeah, he wouldn't be in a sophomore math class. At all.

"Oh I think you know why I'm here, Sora," he grinned. That's not off-putting at all…

"If this has anything to do with what you guys planned last Friday, then I will kindly tell you to fuck off," I smiled back. Smiling always makes everything more pleasant.

"No, not that! You were being too much of a bitch about it anyway!"

Well I'm sure anyone would act like a bitch if their friends kidnapped them, drove them out for three hours across the bridge to Besaid, and threatened to throw them over the waterfalls if they didn't comply with their wacky demands. 'Course the shopping I was subjected to afterwards was comparatively pleasant. Why'd they choose to wake me up at ass-'o-clock in the morning on a day off to go shopping in Besaid in the first place, you ask? Easy, there are no water falls high enough to pose a serious threat on Destiny Island and no witnesses at ass-'o-clock in the morning. Oh, and what was that about being too much of a bitch, you ask? Easy, Selphie pulled out the scissors and made a beeline for my head. I like to think I made the right choice when I ripped them out of her hands and threw them into the water. Was this all Yuffie's idea, you ask?

…I'm still not too sure.

"Tidus, if you're not here because of what happened Friday, then why are you here?" I really didn't know now…

"Aw, come on! Don't tell me you forgot! I'm here to help you get the girl, remember?" Tidus explained, his voice taking on a slightly whiny quality that's usually only caused when he frustrated with someone that he wouldn't simply punch to fix the problem. That just made it worse to me. It meant he had already started cooking some half-baked scheme up. And um… help me 'get the girl'?

"Oh yeah, that…" I mumbled. The only thing that would make this more golden was if he started singing "Sha lalalalala my, oh my"—you know how it goes. He didn't sing.

"Yes, that! I have the perfect set up too! Ahem, bring in the cheer squad!" he screamed out the doorway, completely disrupting my class. No one said a thing. They all just stared.

And then THEY walked in. The girls. Yes, _those_ girls. Yuna, Rikku and Paine all dressed as … cheerleaders, I think? When I say cheerleaders, I don't mean our somewhat conservative school cheer leading uniforms. I mean those skimpy ones you see in the movies. They were purple and yellow for our school colors... and the resemblance ended there. The skirts were short enough to get them a job at the Honeybee Inn (don't ask how I know about that place) and were currently exposing Rikku's lacy yellow panties, something that was totally gross and not what I wanted to see, which told me and everyone else in the room that none of them were wearing shorts underneath. I was currently hoping to god that neither Yuna nor Paine flashed us as well. I don't know how they got Paine to wear that but considering their faint bruises and Paine's reputation, it wasn't an easy task. Strangely enough, she seemed to not have as much of a problem with the skirt as she did the shirt, if I could even call it that. It was more like a tube... a bra tube. And while Paine was very pretty (albeit scary as all hell), she wasn't quite as well-endowed in the chest area as Yuna and Rikku were, so the _tube-thing_ kept slipping down. And to top it off, they had pom-poms. Cue the clicking of phone cameras.

"What the fuck, Tidus."

"They're your cheerleaders."

"For what?!"

"The hell do you think? To cheer you on, that's what."

I stood and dragged him out of the classroom, the girls following behind along with the cheers and hooting from most of the other males in my classroom as well.

"Alright, dude, what's this all about?" I asked seriously. How on earth did cheerleaders factor into the Kairi equation? (I mean, they factored into the Claire equation, but that's a whole other story…)

"Well, you know since you got through all that shit with Kairi relatively unscathed, Selphie, Wakka, Riku and I _all_ agreed on helping you get the girl! But I'm going all out for ya, man! Got you some cheerleaders and everything!" he exclaimed. I stared at him blankly for a moment.

"How are cheerleaders going to help me ask Kairi out?" I asked.

"Simple! They cheer you on, you go talk to Kairi, everyone wins and we all go out for ice cream."

He looks so accomplished with himself.

"You seriously think that's going to work," I stated. I wasn't even going to question it. Knowing Tidus...

"Yup."

_Sigh._

"Alright, fine. I might as well go along with it before you kidnap me **again**."

"Now we're talking!" he shouted in exuberance. The teacher next door told him to stop yelling in the halls and get his ass back to the senior hallway. He ignored that.

"So, would you like to explain to me how this cheering thing is going to work exactly?" I asked. This is gonna be interesting.

"I don't even have to explain. Girls, into position!"

All three immediately dropped into their YRP pose—although it looked much less out of place in cheer leading uniforms—and waved their pom-poms around.

"Now how this is gonna work is," he started to explain anyway, "I give you my amazing dating advice, you use it on Kairi while the YRP cheer you on in the background, and the confidence boost they give you… and maybe the ensuing harassment, will make Kairi pity you enough to go out with you! It's genius!"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! And what do you mean 'pity' me?!"

"Well, I mean that's probably the best you'll ever get."

"Fuck you, Tidus."

"Hey, calm down, it'll work! Just you wait and see!" he huffed. Paine's eye-roll at those two sentences seemed to suggest otherwise.

"Y'know what? Fuck it! Fine, but I gotta hear the advice first." I'm sure this'll be good.

"Well first things first: Dude. Ask her on a date already," he said, shrugging.

Well shit. That one actually made sense.

"Uh oh," Yuna said. "Looks like you made him clam up."

"I don't know how to ask _anyone_ on a date! Especially not Empress Santoni!" I exclaimed, horrified.

"Dude, you already hooked up with Selphs and Garnet, like, ages ago!" Tidus fired back.

"_Empress Santoni_?" Paine asked quietly as Rikku giggled. I ignored them.

"Selphie kissed **me**! And Garnet asked **me** out!" I shouted, slapping my palm against my forehead.

"Well there ya go! You already got the women crawling all over you; how could Kairi resist?!"

_I'll show you how!_

Thus, I was shoehorned into asking Kairi out... cheer squad plus Tidus behind me and all.

"Okay, there she is by her locker. Go on ahead and ask her out to a night on the town. They've got one of those Royal Festivals going on this weekend the next town over! You finally got your license so you can even drive her there!" Tidus pressed.

"It's called the Million Dreams Festival. It's not a Royal festival, it's just funded by the queen of the Eastern Isles," I replied, mostly out of nervousness and a need to stall the inevitable.

"The one that sounds like Minnie Mouse when she talks and lives in a funhouse mirror castle?" Rikku piped in.

"Yeah, that one."

"Whatever it is, ask her if she wants to go with you to it!" Tidus interrupted impatiently.

Wiping the sweat off of my hands and onto my pants, I braced myself and walked over to Kairi. Slowly. Oh so very slowly.

"Go, go Sora! You can do it! Go, go Sora! Ask her out! Go, go Sora...!"

The sounds of cheering only made it worse. Now she's staring at me with this weird look on her face.

"Umm, hey Kai," I greeted once I finally made it to her.

"Hey Sora," she replied, eyebrow raised.

"So uh. I was, uh, wondering if you, um, wanted to... maybe... gotothemilliondreamsfestivalwithmeFridaynight?"

Smooth.

"Um, sure Sora. We can go hang out at the Dreams Festival," she laughed. "See you Friday, then."

And then she left her locker as well as my head in the clouds. Success.

"Dude... she just friend zoned you."

"How would you know?!"

"She said 'hang out'. I don't think she even realizes it's supposed to be a date."

Fuck.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Well, for what it's worth, the festival was super fun. For friends...

"Don't get so down, Sora. You'll get her. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again!" Tidus said. It was possible he was trying to cheer me up, but the way he said it sounded more obnoxious than anything.

"You think this is funny, you asshole."

"Yeah, I do. But that doesn't mean I don't want to help!"

And that doesn't mean that I want your help.

"Anymore 'amazing' advice, Tidus?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, of course! I knew just asking her on a date wouldn't work! That's why I told you to do that first!" he told me in a reassuring voice, as if that helped.

"You shouldn't have told me to do it at all if it wasn't going to work!"

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have gotten a laugh out of it! Plus, I had to test out the cheerleaders to see how well they worked!" he replied, hand-waving the entire issue.

"What the—?! They aren't machines!" I shouted. Paine looked ready to punch him in the face. I'm sure I probably looked the same.

"I know that. What I meant was, I wanted to know if their cheering gave you confidence," he said nonchalantly, picking in his ear. Of course, from the way he kept glancing at Yuna, it was obvious he only said that to save his skin before she roasted it.

"Regardless of whether or not they did, I already know you're not getting rid of them."

"Now, Sora, why ever would you say that?"

Oh cut the innocent crap.

"Because you've been all over facebook all weekend. You've quickly become 'that popular guy with the hot cheerleaders all over him'," I deadpanned. They literally called him that.

"Really now? But they're supposed to be 'all over' you..." he murmured, rubbing his chin as if in speculation.

"Cut the bullshit, Tidus. You already knew that."

"He really did!" Rikku piped up.

"Hey! I paid for your silence! Cough up that ten bucks!" he shouted at her, holding out his hand.

"Hell no!" she replied, sticking out her tongue.

"Tidus," Yuna started. Automatically his attention was caught. "I did this because you said you wanted help Sora out with getting Kairi to like him back. That's the only reason I joined, not to be your eye-candy or anyone else's. Now I honestly want to help Sora because I'm his friend and I want him to be happy. And when you brought up the idea of being his cheerleaders, I was all for it! I'm not trying to embarrass him, I just honestly thought he needed a confidence boost. I'll admit, I was a little less excited when you showed us these uniforms, though. But aren't you his friend too? You wanted to help Sora too, right? I hope you hadn't forgotten that that was the point of all this. No more playing around, Tidus. I really want you to help Sora, 'cause if you won't then I will."

That seemed to knock some sense into everyone. Rikku no longer looked overly excited, Paine no longer looked like she wanted to rip someone's head off, and Tidus looked exceptionally cowed. But their expressions soon turned to determination as they realized the error of their ways and the truth in Yuna's moving words. It was as if a door had suddenly opened their paths to enlightenment and at that moment, they realized that they truly wanted to help me. Because friends should always want to help each other.

...

I honestly just wanted them to leave me alone, but we don't always get our way.

However, as it turned out, Yuna's empowering motivational speech did little to help Tidus' lackluster dating tactics. Because seriously, "ask her on a date" was just about the only useful thing he said.

"Okay, Tidus' awesome dating tip number one—" he started as we saw Kairi walking to her first class.

"I thought this was number two," I interrupted. What happened to 'ask her on a date'?

"Nope. Number one. The whole ask her on a date thing was a joke; I already knew that wasn't going to work. Anyway, Tidus' awesome dating tip number one: walk up to her, all smooth and such, and compliment her on her appearance. Tell her she has nice hair! You know how much she's always fussing over it, so that'll butter her up real nice!" Tidus whispered loudly to me. Though standing in the middle of the hallway whispering about anything is already conspicuous enough. Especially when it comes to Tidus. As for the advice...

"But she's wearing—"

"Oh c'mon man! Don't chicken out on me, just go and say it!"

And with that, he pushed me across the hallway with his blitzball induced inhuman strength, causing me to narrowly avoid crashing into Kairi. She jumped a little before realizing exactly who almost knocked her down.

"Oh, hi Sora."

I couldn't help it. She was staring right at me and I was feeling nervous and how the hell was I supposed to walk all smooth and stuff if I was just standing here staring back at her like an idiot. I froze and did the first thing that came to mind:

"Hey Kairi! Uh, nice hair!"

What was the first thing that came to mind? Tidus' stupid advice. Why was it so stupid?

"Sora, I'm wearing a hat. You can't even see my hair."

It was a fedora, in fact. A very nice looking one (aside from the fact that it was bright pink, but this is Kairi we're talking about. She's _always_ wearing pink). I'm also pretty sure that's against the rules but no one's gonna say anything. Demyx's hair is against the rules and no one's accosted him yet. And guess what. All of her hair was tucked into the fedora. Not a strand stuck out, not even her bangs.

Tidus, you dumb mother fu—

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked. It was only then that I realized I'd been staring at her with what was most likely a very weird expression on my face.

"Um, I'm... uh... I'll just go now," I stuttered, walking back toward Tidus and my -ugh- cheerleaders. They stopped waving their pom-poms once they noticed my embarrassment.

"So," Tidus started, "How'd it go?"

I responded by punching him in the chest.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Okay, so on to Tidus' awesome dating tactic number two!"

"Are we still at this?"

It's been a week. I'm not entirely sure how useful he thinks his 'dating tactics' are, but if it took a week to come up with number two then I dread what the rest of them will be like. Tidus seemed to have utter confidence in it. Even Yuna seemed relatively happy about whatever it was. I'd say that made me feel better, but underneath that calm exterior, Yuna's just as crazy as Tidus… so no, it doesn't.

"Yeah, of course we are. You don't think I'd give up on you, do you?" Tidus replied.

I hope you do.

"I'm sure you won't…" I can imagine the grimace accompanying that sentence projected my actual thoughts anyway.

"Cool. Okay, so here's the plan. Complimenting her didn't work out like I hoped it would—"  
>"Yeah, you think?!"<p>

"—But this one just might fare better for you. You get, what, straight A's?"

"No."

"But you and I both know you can if you'd stop bullshitting all your class work. You ace all your tests. I know this 'cause your mom brags to my mom about it! So anyway, compliments didn't work. So let's hit something close to home for both of you. Go take her on a study date— ah, I know what you're about to say but I'm serious this time! She won't suspect it to be a real date, giving you ample time to build up the courage to confess to her!"

I closed my mouth and thought about it for a moment. It could work but…

"Where do the cheerleaders factor into this? They can't shout at me in the library…" And I know they'll pop up somewhere in this.

"Well, I know that! That's why they'll be standing outside the window. This time, though, they'll cheer you on in studying so that our plan isn't as obvious. So, you know, make sure you sit near a window," Tidus supplied easily. Oh yeah, easy for him! Kairi's not gonna fall for this either way!

"There's gotta be something I get in return for all this ridiculousness."

"I'll take you, Kairi, Riku, Selphie, Wakka and the girls to Zanarkand for three weeks after your nephew's born. My old man will probably be holding a game around that time."

"Sold."

"Nice!"

And that's how I ended up at Seaside Library with Kairi, sitting in front of a window twiddling my thumbs. She was hard at work, studying for exam week which was a while away but 'cramming isn't her style', she said. That's probably why she agreed so easily in the first place. Man, what a bummer.

The craziest part, though, was that the librarian seemed to get a kick out of my cheerleaders. They were still dressed in those ridiculous cheer outfits, standing outside with their heads poking in the window, cheering me and Kairi on quietly. Kairi seemed not to mind, since they were quiet, but you would think the librarian would. He's usually a stick in the mud about everything. Now though, he only shook his head and laughed every time he walked by this area. Even weirder was, every time he did so, Paine's face got about five percent redder.

"What's up, Paine?" I finally asked after the seventh time Zexion (the librarian) walked by, chuckling away.

"I'm embarrassing myself for you, that's what."

"No, I mean, why do you keep blushing every time Zex walks by? You didn't seem to care as much when anyone else stared…"

Rikku and Yuna seemed interested in the answer as well as they both turned to Paine, intrigued.

"I'm embarrassing myself for you in front of my nerdy, bookworm, way-too-short-to-be-twenty-years-old cousin."

See? How many times have I stated that everyone on this island knew each other?!

On the other hand, that explains why he was so amused…

"Why don't you just leave if you're so uncomfortable?" I asked. I didn't want her to suffer on my behalf…

"Tidus is paying me fifty bucks an hour to do this. Plus, it's not really that bad. I just don't appreciate this… thing he's forced me to wear," she explained, rolling her eyes.

"What Paine means is that she's happy to help, but doesn't want to outright say it. Why are you talking to us anyway? Aren't you supposed to be studying?" Rikku cut in, gesturing a hand—well pom-pom really—towards my text books.

"Sora doesn't study. He absorbs information like some sort of computer. If he wasn't such a space cadet, he would probably qualify as a genius…" Kairi mumbled into her notes, although the comment was heard. I wasn't sure whether to be flattered that she thought I could be a genius or insulted that she called me a space cadet.

I figured it'd be best to stick with flattered in the end. I kinda am a space cadet…

"Well damn. Sora, help me with my homework," Rikku pouted.

"You're a senior! We don't even have the same homework!" I nearly shouted back—_nearly_ because Zexion is still lurking around.

"He'll help you," Kairi smirked, "I'm sure he won't have a problem with senior work. He needs a reason to not be so lazy anyway."

Not cool Kai. Not cool at all.

"Oh, that means you can help me with mine too, right?" Yuna asked. Paine merely held up her book bag with an expectant look on her face.

"Alright, fine! Get your butts in here and stop standing in the window, you bunch of weirdoes!"

I was grumbling. I know I was grumbling. Here I am, helping the girls plus Kairi with their work when I should be figuring out how to ask Kairi out. Why don't I say no, you ask? I'm Sora, that's why. And I've inherited Dad's uncanny ability to want to help others, although I hear I'm **way** less grumpy and mean about it. Not Mom's, you ask? She's a wild card: sometimes she'll help you, sometimes she'll smack you on the rear and tell you to take care of your own shit. No one seems to believe me when I say my mother is not the saint they all think she is and my father is, in fact, a very helpful and giving person and not an evil mountain troll. Regardless, I can't just say no and focus on my own needs! So, this basically just turned into a regular study session.

Thanks a lot, Tidus.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Alright, Tidus, what's next?

"What's wrong bro?" Tidus asked. "You're staring at me like I kicked your puppy."

"I'm waiting for you to pop your next idiotic idea on me."

"Well to be fair, the study date wasn't all that idiotic—"

I cut him off right there.

"I spent my whole afternoon explaining conic sections to The Girls while Kairi studied quietly to herself. For your information, I despise math with a passion. In fact, the only reason I even knew what I was doing was because Roxas pushes his homework on me when he has to take care of Nam. And I thought this was supposed to help me ask Kairi out! Shouldn't **you** know best what I need to do?! Didn't **you** date her?!"

"Whoa, hold up there," Tidus started, covering my mouth (as well as the rest of my face) with a binder. "We weren't even serious. She only dated me so that other guys wouldn't bother asking her out. Yeah, we had fun and she was pretty cool to date, but I always got the feeling she was interested in… _someone else_, so I didn't take it very far with her. Hell, the only reason she was upset we broke up was because she had grown so comfortable around me and suddenly felt like our break-up meant we couldn't talk anymore. Silly stuff, pretty much. Trust me, you need to take her _way_ more seriously than I did."

"Does that explain why you aren't taking this seriously?" I asked as I pushed his binder away. He was once again hanging around in my classroom, but this time it was drama and no one was here yet. He'd probably have to scram before Rinoa caught him, though. Apparently, The Girls were holding her up with Yuna's teacher's aid work.

And I'm sure Tidus is here for a reason, so…

"No, I'm taking it seriously. I told you, if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. If the previous plan failed, then something else has got to work," he stated confidently. Wish I felt the same.

"And if all of your plans fail…?" I asked. How many plans did he have anyway?

"Then I pass you off to Selphie or Wakka and hope that they do better. I told you this was a joint effort…"

That wasn't pleasing to hear.

"I told you, Sora, we're here to help you out. It's getting kinda painful watching you flounder around the girl you so obviously have the hots for, and everyone figures that if you need some help, we shouldn't leave you in the chum bucket," Tidus continued, patting my shoulder. I have to admit, they may be insane, but I do have some pretty awesome friends.

"Okay, I'm used to the happy looks on Sora's face, but _you_ Tidus…?"

We both turned to see Rinoa entering the classroom with the girls behind her. She set down her water bottle and bagel on her desk before turning to face us completely.

"Might I ask what you two are talking about?"

"Exchanging vows, obviously," Paine answered for us. Tidus wadded up a piece of paper from his binder and threw it at her. It didn't stop the giggling.

"Sorry, but no. I'm too busy arranging his marriage to the school's resident Princess of Heart—Sora's heart to be exact," Tidus said, pointing a thumb in my direction.

"That was strangely poetic coming from you, Blitz-boy," Rinoa smirked.

"Eh… I think Rikku was babbling something like that to Silver…" he replied. Rikku blew a raspberry at him in response.

"So, I'm assuming from the marriage jibe, that you want to help Sora ask Kairi on a date…" Rinoa said as she sat down. Paine and Rikku leaned against the whiteboard while Yuna took her seat at the desk beside Rinoa's.

"You assume correctly!"

"And how exactly have you been going about this?"

Everyone in the room besides Tidus and Rinoa grimaced.

"That bad, huh?"

"Well, it hasn't really been _bad_ so much as _pointless_…" I told her. The worst of it all was the verbal harassment The Girls got due to their "uniforms", but even then, they've been doing a good job at stomping out rumors and I've been telling people to leave them alone.

"Really? Well, what have you been doing so far?" she asked, lacing her fingers together and leaning forward. Tidus and Yuna explained the plan and the previous attempts at making it successful. By the end of it, Rinoa was grimacing too.

"You're going about this all wrong! You have to consider Kairi's interests! The Dreams Festival was a good idea, but that's where people take their kids to learn the history behind one of the weirdest royal families in existence! The studying obviously wouldn't work, anyone can ask someone to study with them! And Tidus, you should've known better than to tell him to compliment that girl's hair when she was wearing a hat! Being smooth isn't Sora's strong suit! Play to his strengths!" Rinoa exclaimed as she slammed her hand on her desk.

"Okay, so you want to go the romantic route?" she continued, standing up and pacing around the front of the room, "Then you have to find something you both like and turn it romantic! Evaluate your interests, Sora! Find out what you have in common with her and use it to your advantage!"

She was getting weirdly passionate about this.

"What do you both like to do?" she asked.

"Oh, oh! They both like plays and drama and shit!" Tidus shouted, raising his hand.

"That's right! They're still in my class, putting up with my abuse, so they must love plays and drama and shit! Where can you apply that?!" Rinoa shouted back.

"The theatre in Luca! Y'know, the one that's next to the Blitzball stadium and holds huge events for two months out of a year!" Rikku supplied.

"Oh, that's right! I heard my dad talking about it with Uncle Cid! He said that they were showing a collection of plays this month and that next month would be a film festival!" Yuna said.

"So omt syh tuach'd ajar mega bmyoc…" Rikku snorted in her home language. I didn't even bother asking. Whenever she does that, we usually ignore her.

"So we've got a location! Now we just need Sora to pop the question!"

Rinoa was cut off by someone clearing their throat. We all looked up to see my classmates standing in the doorway, curiously watching my conversation with my crazy teacher and even crazier friends. I'm sure you can guess who cleared their throat.

"What question will Sora be popping?" Kairi asked, raising an eyebrow.

All eyes turned to me at that moment. Setting my nervousness aside, I stood from my seat and faced her courageously.

"The theatre in Luca is having an event this month. Did you wanna go with me?" My voice may or may not have cracked.

Of course my mature classmates all "ooo'ed and ahhh'ed" and set their attention on Kairi. Her cheeks reddened but she persevered.

"Sure, that sounds pretty fun!"

Okay, maybe my mature classmates boosted my pride just a bit when they started to applaud.

"Okay, alright, you goofy kids! To your seats! We've got a lot to cover today—"

I contentedly let Rinoa start her lecture, sinking back into my seat with a satisfied grin on my face. Tidus slapped me on the back and left with Rikku and Paine while Yuna started noting down everything Rinoa said as the curriculum plan for the rest of the year. I couldn't pay much attention. I was finally making some progress.

Or so I thought.

Well, to be fair, it started off pretty nice. I ended up borrowing money for boat fair since I didn't carry around a lot of cash, but once we got to Luca, everything started out nicely. The Blitzball Stadium wasn't holding any events, but there were still enough tourists to kick up a racket. We ended up taking a little tour of the city –little because it's huge and we would've been out all day if we had explored the entire city– before the start of the first show. We would be sharing a hotel room as well, which is not a problem for three reasons: I'd never try anything with her and I'd be too scared of her even if I was that kind of guy, the show was late at night and my parents didn't want us coming back too late, and her dad thinks this is a school thing with a bunch of other kids so he a-okayed it. Honestly, I'm scared of him too, so I know I'll be walking on eggshells this whole trip. Kairi didn't seem to mind, though. Yeah, when my dad said we would have to share at a hotel I got some awkwardly suggestive looks from Roxas, Naminé, and Vanille, but Kairi simply nodded her head and got in the car (Mom had to drive us to the docks). In fact, she seemed to forget about the hotel entirely once we got to Luca. I know she used to live in Hollow Bastion, but compared to this city, her hometown is apparently small fry. Hell, I was just as entranced. I've rarely ever been passed Destiny and Besaid and usually my visits to the mainland were spent visiting my grandmother. While she lives near Midgar, she (and my parents) refuse to take us on trips into the city because it's apparently too dangerous. So yeah, big cities are kind of a big deal for me. Honestly, we would have explored more if it weren't for the fact that we would miss the show.

_I Want To Be Your Canary._

Yeah. Sir Avons' _I Want To Be Your Canary_.

Oh the irony.

Kairi seemed pretty excited, though. She said she had always wanted to see this play since she was little, but they never showed it outside of Alexandria until recently. No surprise that one of its first few outside showings would be in Luca. And to give it some credit, the play was interesting enough for such a cliché premise. The guy behind us didn't seem to think so. Nearly every line since the start of scene two garnered an inappropriate comment. So, of course, everyone in the audience gave him dirty looks before ignoring him all together. Unfortunately, Kairi's hair color represents her temperament pretty well and she wasn't going to take this guy's shit lying down. So by the time he was telling the cast they could all suck his cock, she had turned around—red faced—and told him to "suck this" before punching him in the face. Then she got up and stormed out of the theatre. To be honest, I don't think the problem was so much his obnoxious comments as it was the fact that he ruined the experience of Kairi finally watching the play she's wanted to see since forever. So I wasn't all that hurt when she refused to talk to me for the rest of the evening.

… Or the next morning. At least, not until after lunch when we boarded the boat and she let all of her frustration out on me. Then got quiet again once we got in the car. I was too worried about her blood pressure at the time to even remember why we went to Luca in the first place. By the time it hit me, I had already seen Kairi off and gotten to my room to put my stuff away.

Well damn, Tidus. What do you have for me next?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What do ya mean the play was a bust?!"

I sighed and played with my fries (what was left of them).

"I mean, nothing could even happen because some asshole in the row behind us told the cast of the play to suck his cock."

Tidus seemed not to like this answer. Everyone else's snickering told me it was pretty hilarious. Good thing Kairi's talking with Rinoa right now.

"Shit! That was supposed to be the plan that worked!" Tidus exclaimed as he sat back in his seat, exasperated.

"I'm guessing you weren't planning on the other plans to work?" Naminé asked. She and Roxas had been pretty interested in this plan to set me up with Kairi ever since Riku told them what was going on. Of course, I'm still waiting for whatever Riku has cooked up. I know he's plotting something. He always keeps his distance when he's plotting something. Currently, he was sitting quietly across from me, picking at Rikku's ear (don't ask; he may be my best friend, but he's still really fucking weird). Focusing back on Naminé, I shook my head at her question. This, naturally, resulted in Tidus throwing something at me. Oh, it's an empty carton of milk this time. Joy.

"Of course I was planning on them working. I don't know what sort of rain cloud Sora's got floating above his air head, but it's been fucking my well laid out plans up!" Tidus responded. Leave it to him to kick up a fuss. No wonder Paine's rolling her eyes.

"Is complimenting someone's hair while they're wearing a fedora really that well laid out?" I asked. I knew it wasn't. I'm just asking anyway.

"Of course it makes sense to compliment her! I just wasn't counting on the hat."

"You looked straight at her!"

"Guys, guys, break it up. How about instead of arguing, you come up with a new plan?" Roxas asked. I really don't like the fact that he's encouraging this.

Tidus, dramatic as ever, slammed his hand on the lunch table.

"Go over to her house," he suggested. I choked.

"What?!"

"Tidus, are you trying to get him killed? You know the mayor hates our family!" Roxas stated, nose wrinkled in distaste. He understands. He's gotten the famous Mayor Santoni glare too. I think the only person who hasn't is Vanille because she generally stays out of his sights. Even my grandmother has gotten the glare whenever she visits. The only reason he would let me in his house is so he can bake me in a pie and sell it to his voters.

"Then choose a night when he goes away. You know he's been taking trips more frequently lately," Tidus easily supplied. Now that I think about it, Kairi's dad hasn't been around much lately. I wonder why that is…

"I happen to know for a fact that he'll be gone all of next week," Riku cut in, still messing with Rikku's ear, though she didn't seem to mind.

"And how do you know that?" I asked.

"I would say 'because I'm a fuckin' ninja', but I think that's gotten old."

You're damn right it has. He said that shit all the time in middle school. God that was annoying.

"Anyway, I found out after I overheard him talking to one of his secretaries. He was saying something about not wanting to leave Kairi alone but needing to do something important. Wouldn't say what, though…" he continued.

"Maybe he's getting remarried," Yuna suggested.

"Yeah, probably to Maleficent," Selphie added, snorting into her chicken salad sandwich (which only served to make a mess).

"Well, whatever he's doing, it's leaves room for you to go make your mov—movies! Movies are great!" Tidus cut himself off. Curious about the sudden and awkward change of subject, everyone turned towards the head of the table. Lo and behold. My life's getting predictable, isn't it?

"What are you guys talking about?" Kairi asked, casting suspicious glances at Tidus. He was the one to seize the opportunity this time, mostly because I still didn't agree with this plan.

"Kairi, when's your dad leaving?" Tidus asked so fast that spittle came flying out of his mouth. Poor Selphie and Wakka had to wipe it off their faces.

"Uh, Friday?" she answered uncertainly. Not uncertainly of when her dad leaves, uncertainly of whether or not she should even tell Tidus.

"Perfect! It's like one of those date movies! The Friday cliché!" Tidus nodded to himself.

"What's going on, Tidus?" Seems Kairi's losing her patience. Her arms are crossed now.

"Sora wants to come over to your house to watch a movie, but he's too chicken shit to deal with your dad. So Friday's perfect for him!" Tidus didn't seem nearly as scared of her as I was.

Kairi looked over to me to see if Tidus was joking or not. I could only smile sheepishly at her.

"Well did Sora say he was okay with this?" she asked as she turned back to Tidus. He was already nodding before she even finished her question.

"Of course he is. He's Sora. He's okay with anything!"

Well, not anything…

"And did _I _say I was okay with this? I don't remember you asking me…" she continued, arms still crossed menacingly. Now Tidus seemed a bit at a loss.

"Uh… please?"

The world must have hiked up its skirt and slapped my mama across the face because Tidus Taylor, son of Jecht-the Chuck Norris of Blitzball, just _begged_.

Kairi pursed her lips and thought about it for a while. Finally she sighed.

"I don't even know why you're begging. Sora's welcome over any time."

I feel as if I just got slapped across the face. It wasn't even that long ago that she was glaring at me as if I was scum. Now I'm welcome over any time. It almost feels like a dream.

"Well, that solves that," Riku said after a moment of silence. He'd finally left Rikku's ear alone. That was really starting to weird me out.

"I guess I'll see you Friday, Kai," I told Kairi. She nodded in agreement as she sat down between me and Yuna. Across from me, Selphie rolled her eyes and threw her apple slice at me. Why do people keep throwing stuff at me?!

-o-

Honestly, I think I quite liked the play mishap compared to this.

Neither of us said a thing as we just sat and watched Atlantis: The Lost Empire. I could probably cut through the tension in the room with the blunt(er) side of my house key. I think I'm supposed to be saying something, but I'm literally blanking out here. I can't even remember what's going on in the movie. Did the commander dude (what was his name? Rourke?) just throw his blonde lady partner (still can't remember her name) to her death? Are we that far in the movie? And what the hell is that noise?!

Turning to the window to answer that last question, I see something I honestly should have expected.

My personal cheerleaders were at the window cheering me on. I heard bits and pieces of "Go"… "Sora"… and "get some"… but for the most part, their voices were blocked out by the glass. Turning back to Kairi, I realized that she still hadn't even noticed them. She wasn't even watching the movie. She was occasionally glancing between Atlantis and a cross word puzzle in her hands. I think she's psychic and she knows what I want to ask her and she's intentionally shutting me out. It's the only logical reason for why it's so awkward in here. She hasn't even glanced my way. She's so busy ignoring me that she _still_ hasn't noticed the cheering outside getting gradually louder. I turned to the window again. Rikku and Yuna were making hand signals that I couldn't understand for the life of me. Finally, Paine got fed up and shouted through the glass.

"Just ask her already!"

Jumping, Kairi looked up at the window with wide eyes. By then, The Girls had already ducked underneath the window sill, so all she saw was the house across the street. Steeling myself, I cleared my throat and faced her fully.

"Kairi, wi—"

_Ring. Ring._

_Ring_. Mother fucking. _Ring_.

"Oh, hold that thought Sora! My dad's calling," she said as she looked at the caller id on her cell phone.

Seriously, what the fuck.

This should not be this difficult.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

I can't believe this.

I'm actually sitting in my kitchen, moping.

Oh, and my cheerleaders aren't doing a very good job of cheering me up. They're moping with me.

"I literally risked our position to yell at you to move your ass," Paine stated glumly. You know this got serious when Paine says things glumly.

"You just left without even telling her," Rikku complained.

"Well she was on the phone for pretty long. We were already leaving anyway…" Yuna said.

"It wasn't even because of that. It was because she started arguing with her dad. I didn't want to stay in the middle of that since it was none of my business," I told her.

"Maybe he is marrying Maleficent," Rikku mumbled into her chocolate milk. According to my big sis, chocolate milk solves all problems. And while she can't cook to save her life, she is a particular expert at making sweets like homemade ice cream and chocolate, well, anything. So our moping spurred her into a chocolate milk-making frenzy and now here we all are.

"Regardless of whatever he's doing, I didn't want to hear anything I didn't need to hear. So I left."

"Why didn't you ask her out before the phone rang?" Rikku pouted. I shrugged. Why didn't I?

"Well this doesn't mean we should lose all hope!" Yuna started. "Look, I called Tidus over—"

"Why?!"

"Because he really wants to help, Sora, hush! I called him over, and he said he has a way to salvage the plan."

"And how's he going to do that?"

"Easy!"

I jumped at that. What's with everyone popping out of nowhere lately?! What is this, _Harry Potter_?!

When I turned to expect Tidus, however, I was met with a large bouquet of roses. Oh well yeah, Tidus was behind the roses, but he certainly wasn't in my face like they were. Still kinda wondering what's up with the roses, though.

"What's this?" I asked, taking them from him.

"A make-up gift for Kairi. Didn't I hear something about an argument?"

Wait, what? When the hell did Yuna call him anyway?!

"It wasn't an argument with me!"

"Oh. Well, they'll make a nice gift for when you finally ask Kairi out. Speaking of which," Tidus continued as he pulled me out of my chair, "You might as well get this over with now!"

I was then ushered out of the house and down the street, cheerleaders behind me loudly shouting for me to… ahem "grow some balls and pop that question", before being shoved in front of Kairi's front door. Tidus rang the doorbell before running behind some bushes, The Girls following with giddy smiles on their faces. I was once again struck speechless when the door opened.

"Oh, Sora," Kairi said as she stared back in surprise. It quickly turned to slight guilt. "I'm so sorry about that. I didn't think he'd start yelling at me. Maybe we can try the movie thing tomorrow. At the theatres, even…"

She trailed off when she caught sight of the flowers I was holding. Think fast, Sora! Don't ask her out with them, that's way too cheesy. Offer them to her for… for…

"Uh, here! I figured you might need something to make you feel better after the argument. It seemed pretty bad…" I said, handing her the flowers.

"Oh! Thank you," she smiled brightly as she gingerly took the bouquet out of my hands and set them on the side tables to her couch. "I'll have to find a vase for them later."

Okay, Sora. Here's your chance. You've got this.

"Kairi go out with me," I blurted. From the bushes, I heard a distinct slap.

Kairi's eyes went owlishly wide… until something seemed to click. And she started to giggle. Yes, giggle.

"Oh nice one, Sora. Happy April Fools to you too. See you tomorrow; we can figure out what we want to go see then," she continued giggling before waving at me and closing her front door. Robotically, I grabbed my phone and checked the date: April 1st ... You've gotta be shitting me.

I didn't even turn when Tidus rose out of the bushes. Or when he solemnly patted my shoulder.

"Man. You done fucked up."

I nodded and walked away. I done fucked up indeed, Tidus. I certainly done fucked up. I couldn't even think properly, because in that moment… I done truly _fucked up_.

Although, looking back, I suppose I should have intervened when I distinctly heard Tidus mention to Yuna: "Looks like it's Selphie's turn now."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Long chapter this time around (about 8,000 words). Sorry about that, I do try to keep them short.

I think this is the first time I've ever specifically stated where they live. But I'm sure you guys already guessed forever ago, so it doesn't really matter…

Now let's take a moment to lol at Sora being a genius because **HA**! I want him to be smart for the Shakespeare, but I'll always love Sora the Dummy in canon.

*Rikku said "My old man doesn't even like plays." I just wanted to stick some Al Bhed in there. I don't know why I like that language so much!

**Lord Avon in Final Fantasy 9 was named after Shakespeare's birthplace. That's where Sora finds the irony of going to see his play.

***The commander's name is Lyle Tiberius Rourke and his lieutenant's name is Helga Sinclair. Just in case any of you were wondering.

**** (Last one, I swear) April 1st was on a Friday in 2011 (when this, regrettably, still takes place)


End file.
